By tkdclan 
The opening day of the 10th President’s Cup, held this year in Sofia, Bulgaria, brought together over 500 junior competitors who showcased their skills on ten fully occupied courts. The tournament, one of the most prestigious in Europe, has already proven to be a resounding success – both in terms of organization and athletic performance.
Miklós Patakfalvi, Technical Delegate nominated by the WT for the event, shared his impressions of the event in an exclusive statement for TKD Clan:
“The 10th President’s Cup is one of the strongest competitions in Europe. This is a really high-level event, and today the junior players showed their talents. We see really good matches everywhere.
The organizing committee did a very good job because everything ran fluently and smoothly. The referees did an excellent job because the key to success is also the referees. I can say that this competition is really good and really high level.
The number of fighters is really high – almost 500 only for today. Tomorrow the cadets will be around 300, and the day after tomorrow, seniors will be over 600. We can say that it is one of the biggest competitions all over in Europe.
The number of participants requires many courts, so we have 10 courts all over the sports hall, and each court is full – more than 40 matches on each of them.
The finals will also take place on all 10 courts because the TV coverage will be this evening. It is a live coverage. That is a very good and high-level event.
I don’t have too much information about the nominations, but I know there will be a lot of players from different countries who took part in the last Olympic Games in Paris.
For instance, the Salim brothers will be here and also some players from the Spanish team. Viviana Martin, who was the Olympic champion in the 57 kg category, will be here as well.
He is from Spain but now competes for Hungary.”
With such strong attendance and global visibility – including a live national TV broadcast of the finals – 10th President’s Cup is a milestone event for the host country and a powerful statement about the growth and popularity of taekwondo in Europe.
Find photos from this event in our Gallery section of the website.
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