Iranians Love Taekwondo, South Korean Grandmaster Kang Shin-chul
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – South Korean grandmaster Kang Kang Shin-chul says that Iran in general really loves taekwondo.
Kang, known as "Mr. Master" in Iran, has trained thousands of pupils in Iran, including Seyed Mohammad Pouladgar, president of the Iran Taekwondo Federation.
In a previous interview with Yonhap News Agency, the 59-year-old said that popularity of taekwondo surged in Iran when Hadi Saei started to win medals at the Olympics.
"Iranian taekwondo got stronger because many athletes are competing in contests," Kang said. "There is a league in both poomsae and sparring and taekwondo athletes compete almost every week."
"I've said before that Iran could surpass South Korea in a few years," Kang said. "South Korea needs to come up with a measure to improve its taekwondo."
"I felt that Iran in general really loves taekwondo," said a Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA) official who was with South Korean youth taekwondo team's training in Tehran last year. "Iranian taekwondo athletes were training in line with the global trend."