Over 60 athletes from eight countries to participate in international professional taekwondo tournament in Moscow

Over 60 athletes from eight countries will participate in the international tournament of professional taekwondo in Moscow, which begins on Friday at the Izmailovo universal athletic hall.

As the organising committee of the competition has told RIA Novosti, apart from Russian athletes, the strongest taekwondo professionals from Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Moldova and Korea will participate in the competition. All of them have the qualification of no less than the 1st Dan.

The competition organisers hope that they will contribute to the popularity of taekwondo, which has become an Olympic type of sport, and will serve as an important stage in the preparation of Russian athletes for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The winners of the tournament will become known on Saturday, December 14.