RIYADH - His Highness Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed, Vice President of the Saudi Olympic Committee - on behalf of His Highness the Minister of Sports and Chairman of the Committee - sponsored the opening ceremony of the Women’s World Taekwondo Championship, in the presence of the President of the Local Organizing Committee Adwaa Al-Arifi, President of the International Taekwondo Federation Chung Won and President of the Federation Saudi Taekwondo Brigadier General Shaddad Al-Omari on the green halls in Riyadh.

The world championship, which is being held for the first time in a women’s version, will witness the participation of 171 players representing 36 countries, including six Saudi women, competing in six weights (under 46 kg, under 49 kg, under 53 kg, under 57 kg, under 62 kg, and under 67). kg, 73 kg and more).

In his speech at the opening ceremony, His Highness Prince Fahd bin Jalawi welcomed the participating female athletes, at a moment that His Highness described as the historic sport of taekwondo in particular, and sports in general, noting the great support of the wise leadership for sports, which made the Kingdom a major destination for major sporting events. Sports leadership in the Kingdom will always enable it to make history in this field, and His Highness appreciated with great gratitude this trust and support from the wise leadership.

His Highness added, “There are many common goals between the World Taekwondo Championships and the Kingdom, including developing the role of women in sports. Saudi women have made distinguished achievements in sports recently, as they showed a distinguished response to our investment in this field by providing a platform that helps all segments of society.” The community is on the prominence and brilliance on the world stage, as there are no limits to the Kingdom’s ambition, and the World Taekwondo Championship for Women is one of the most important means to reach this brilliance.”

For her part, the Chairperson of the Local Organizing Committee, Adwaa Al-Arifi, pointed out the importance of hosting this tournament, as it is the first in the Kingdom, thanks to the continuous support and attention of the rational leadership, which is an incentive to work continuously in order to achieve the goals and aspirations of the leadership of this great country.

The head of the organizing committee concluded her speech by saying, “I wish success to all the participating athletes, and the guests who are with us during the days of the tournament, with my best wishes for a pleasant stay in their second country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

It is noteworthy that the Women’s World Taekwondo Championships witnessed on its first day the preliminary rounds to the semi-finals (under 46 kg, under 62 kg, 73 kg and more), whose final matches will be held on Saturday on the final day of the tournament.