PNNNew Delhi [India], May 30: India Taekwondo organised a grand send-off event for the Indian contingent who will participate in the 2023 Baku World Taekwondo Championships, Azerbaijan at the Peace Taekwondo Academy, SportsCube Center for Excellence, Gurugram.

The Baku 2023 World Taekwondo Championships will be held at Baku Crystal Hall and is scheduled for May 29th to June 4th, 2003, in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Namdev Shirgaonkar, President, India Taekwondo, took a detailed tour of the facilities at the academy in Gurugram and appreciated the state-of-the-art infrastructure developed for the athletes. This was followed by the traditional Pagdi Rasam and the inaugural address by Vinay Kumar Singh (DirectorCo-Founder-Peace Taekwondo Academy) and Dipak Kumar Singh (Managing Director- Bunker Hill and Sports Cube). There was also a Poomsae Demonstration by the Peace Taekwondo Demonstration team.

India Taekwondo also presented the Indian team with their official kit for the World Taekwondo Championships. The association also announced rewards and recognition initiatives for the athletes and officials who have performed with distinction.

Namdev Shirgaonkar, President, India Taekwondo, stated, "The Indian team will be vying for honours at Baku and I am highly optimistic about the team's chances. This provides another much-needed opportunity for the Indians to display their talent on the world stage. India will gain tremendous exposure and experience at the World Championship and soon emerge as a force to reckon with."Grand Master Hasan Maleki (Head Coach-Indian National Taekwondo Team for 2023 World Championships) said, "After a detailed study, we have managed to select the Indian team for the world meet at Baku. I am gung-ho about their chances, as they take on the best in the entire world. We have a very talented contingent and have trained extremely hard for this moment. I am sure we will excel on the world stage."Apart from Namdev Shirgaonkar (President, India Taekwondo), the event included the presence of Grand Master Lee Wan Yong (Head-Taekwondo, Korean Cultural Center, Kiarash Bahri (World Taekwondo Co-ordinator in IndiaATU Observer), Veena Arora (Vice President, India Taekwondo), Vinay Kumar Singh (DirectorCo-founder - Peace Taekwondo Academy), Dipak Kumar Singh (Managing Director -BunkerHillSportsCube), Kanishk Sheel (Co-FounderManaging Director -Bunkerhill), Ompal Boken (Partner-SportsCube), Harish Bedi (Proprietor- Harish BediCompany), G Raja Raman (Senior Sports Communication Professional), Turja Sen (Former Executive Producer - Ten Sports), Grand Master Hasan Maleki (Head Coach - Indian National Taekwondo Team for the 2023 World Championships), Master Sayed Hassan Rezay (Coach - Indian National Taekwondo Team).

The Indian team comprises the following:Women Athletes - Twisha Kakadiya (Under 46kg), Deeksha Sharma (Under 49kg), Latika Bhandari (Under 53kg), Sonam Rawal (Under 57kg), Sania Khan (Under 62kg), Margerette M. Regi (Under 67kg), Etisha Das (Under 73kg) and Rodali Baruwa (Over 73kg).

Men Athletes: Aman Kadyan (Under 54kg), Niraj Chaudhari (Under 58kg), Ajay Gill (Under 63kg), Prithvi Raj Chauhan (Under 68kg), Shivam Tyagi (Under 74kg), Rishabh (Under 80kg), Gulshan Sharma (Under 87kg), and Preetham Yadav (Over 87kg).

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