Wuxi: Asst. Prof. Pimol Srivikorn, President of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand and President of the Taekwondo Association of Thailand, along with Chatchai Che, attended the World Taekwondo Federation (WT) General Meeting held at the World Hotel Grand Juna in Wuxi, People’s Republic of China. The meeting featured important discussions, including the election of the Federation President and Vice President.

According to Thai News Agency, no candidates applied for the position of President, allowing Dr. Chang Won-Chu of South Korea, who has held the position for 20 years, to continue for another and final term as per Federation rules. Additionally, the World Taekwondo Federation plans to propose an increase in the number of medals at the Olympic Games. The proposal aims to raise the count from eight to twelve gold medals, by adding two medals each for the men’s and women’s fighting categories, potentially effective for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane, Australia.

In the men’s category, the weight classes will be adjusted to include not exceeding 54, 60, 67, 82, and more than 82 kilograms. For the women’s category, the classes will begin at 46, 51, 57, 63, 70, and more than 70 kilograms. Asst. Prof. Pimol Srivikorn expressed that this policy would benefit Thai athletes by providing more opportunities to compete in the Olympic Games.

“Nok” Pannpa Hansuchin, the 2019 world champion in the 53kg division, recently weighed in for competition in the 57kg division at the 6th World Championships. She acknowledged the difficulty in her weight class but committed to giving her best effort in every round. Ranked 42nd, Panpa will start her Round of 64 match against 23rd seed Nicole Lisowska of Poland, and a victory will lead her to face 10th seed Nika Karabatik of Croatia, who has a bye in the first round.