A milestone for Virtual Taekwondo
Asia’s first G1 Virtual Taekwondo competition concluded successfully at the Songam Sports Town Air Dome in Chuncheon, Korea, on 19 July 2026.
Asia’s first G1 Virtual Taekwondo competition concluded in Chuncheon, Korea, with 78 athletes from 15 countries competing across four ranking divisions during the 2026 Chuncheon Korea Open International Taekwondo Championships.
Asia’s first G1 Virtual Taekwondo competition concluded successfully at the Songam Sports Town Air Dome in Chuncheon, Korea, on 19 July 2026.
Held as part of the 2026 Chuncheon Korea Open International Taekwondo Championships, the event brought together 78 athletes representing 15 countries. Four champions were crowned across the Under 14 and Under 35 divisions.
The Chuncheon competition was the second official World Taekwondo ranking event for Virtual Taekwondo, adding another stage to the discipline’s developing international structure.
Virtual Taekwondo places athletes inside a digitally generated environment through virtual reality equipment. Movement, timing, reaction speed and tactical decision-making determine the outcome of each round.
The tournament followed a single-elimination format. Each match was contested over a maximum of three 60-second rounds, with the first athlete to win two rounds advancing.
Mixed divisions also allowed male and female athletes to compete directly against one another, giving the discipline a format distinct from conventional Kyorugi competition.
Nguyen Thi Mong Quynh of Vietnam won the Under 35 Mixed title ahead of Joseph Guimond of the United States. Taehyung Kim of Korea and Nong Thach Khiem of Vietnam received bronze.
Nong Thach Khiem claimed the Under 35 Male gold. Darius Venerable of the Philippines took silver, while Nikolas Sharpe of the United States and Gang Choi of Korea earned bronze.
Nguyen also won the Under 35 Female division, finishing ahead of Korea’s Yu Gyeong Kim. Nuray Kaznabek of Kazakhstan and Juvenile Faye Crisostomo of the Philippines completed the podium.
In the Under 14 Mixed competition, Samuel Freimuth defeated fellow United States athlete Connor Anthony Ong 2-1 in the final. Ara Kim of Korea and Nathanael Sean Ibrahim of Indonesia won bronze.
The successful delivery of the Chuncheon event provided further evidence of Virtual Taekwondo’s progression towards a structured international discipline.
Official ranking points, defined age divisions and participation from 15 countries gave the competition significance beyond the individual medal results.
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