ROME, Italy — The legendary Foro Italico complex is hosting the first leg of the 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series. In the Italian capital, 255 athletes from 52 countries, along with the World Taekwondo (WT) Refugee Team, are competing for top-tier ranking points that open the Olympic race toward the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. For the vast majority of participants, the Roman doyang marked their first major competitive test since the 2025 World Championships.
The official launch of the series took place at a press conference at the Auditorium of the Museo dell’Ara Pacis, attended by World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue, Italian Minister of Sport Andrea Abodi, Italian Taekwondo Federation President Angelo Cito, and Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Vito Dell’Aquila.
Para Taekwondo Block: Drama in the Heavyweight Division
The tournament opened with the Para Taekwondo program — and immediately set the bar for drama. The main event was the final bout in the men’s heavyweight K44 (+80 kg) category, where two reigning Paralympic champions faced each other: Great Britain’s Matt Bush and Uzbekistan’s Asadbek Toshtemirov.
Toshtemirov confidently led the contest and dominated the first round. However, in the second, he sustained a serious injury that forced the bout to be stopped — victory was awarded to Bush. Across the para program, gold medals were shared among nine countries, with Uzbekistan the only team to claim more than one gold.
Elite Reset: The Battle for Dominance
The main tournament assembled a field that needs no introduction. In the men’s draw, analysts have their eyes fixed on Korea’s Eunsu Seo — the reigning MVP of the 2025 World Championships. In the women’s division, Brazil’s Maria Clara Pacheco enters after a powerful surge last season, claiming gold at two Grand Prix Challenge events and the world title.
The women’s field in Rome looks unprecedentedly deep:
- Reigning world champion Sarah Chaâri (Belgium) steps onto the same doyang as the world’s top-ranked athletes.
- Olympic champion Viviana Márton and her sister Luana Márton (Hungary) — named MVP of the 2025 World Championships — bring fierce competition to the middle weight categories.
For coaching staffs and analysts, these matchups will serve as the first real indicators of the updated balance of power in the new four-year cycle.
Virtual Doyang: From Experiment to Official Status
At the Foro Italico, the federation held the first officially recognized Virtual Taekwondo tournament. The technical format of the discipline is clearly defined:
- Athletes use VR headsets and specialized motion-tracking sensors.
- Every movement is instantly translated into the digital competition space.
- Bouts take place in a fully non-contact format, eliminating physical injury risk while preserving the full cardio and coordination demands of a real fight.
The integration of the discipline into the official Grand Prix Series program proves that WT has definitively moved the virtual format out of the exhibition category, making it part of its long-term digital strategy.
Anniversary Context and Media Coverage
The current Grand Prix runs under the motto “Reborn, Together” and carries symbolic significance for the host nation: the competition coincides with the 60th anniversary of taekwondo in Italy.
Global media production and content distribution to 160 countries is handled by ICARUS Sports. The timely preparation of official video highlights by the tournament final on June 7 is intended to demonstrate the commercial and visual appeal of taekwondo to international broadcasters.
Based on materials from World Taekwondo, ICARUS Sports.
