Taekwondo World Opens in Central Mexico's City of Puebla

The 2013 World Taekwondo Championships began in Central Mexico’s city of Puebla this weekend. This year marks the 21st annual Championships for men’s events, and the 14th annual for women. Over 800 athletes from 134 countries and regions will be competing for seven days for an audience of over 5,000 locals.

The opening ceremony was held on Saturday, with a folk dance performance depicting the traditional Mexican legend of Popocatepetl – an active volcano in the Puebla region. Also, Puebla’s governor Rafael Moreno Valle and the World Taekwondo Federation’s president Choue Chung-won spoke and opened the biennial Championships, which are scheduled for July 15-21st. They expressed their hopes for the best championships in the Federation’s history and thanked Puebla’s local government for hosting the tournament.

"Dear athletes please train hard and compete fairly, to show the audience of Puebla, Mexico and the whole world how wonderful is taekwondo," Choue Chung-won said.

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Tijuana successfully opens defense of title

After claiming the Mexican Apertura title last season, Tijuana began its Clausura campaign on Sunday with a 2-1 win at Puebla.

First-half goals from Duvier Riascos and Cristian Pellerano handed Tijuana a two-goal advantage in the opening 41 minutes before Puebla pulled a goal back just before halftime through Roberto Juarez.

However, the visitors held on for the win over the second 45 minutes to collect three points and get off to a good start in the new season.

Tigres recorded the biggest win of the weekend as Emanuel Villa scored three times in the second half to lead his side to a 3-0 win over Jaguares, while Pachuca also notched a victory to open the season as second-half goals from Abraham Carreno and Hector Herrera helped the team down Atlante, 2-0.

Rubens Sambueza handed America a last-gasp 2-1 win over Monterrey as he converted a penalty kick deep in stoppage time, and Queretaro also got some late heroics in its 2-2 draw at Leon as Amaury Escoto scored the equalizer in the 90th minute.

San Luis and Santos finished in a 1-1 draw, Cruz Azul got two goals from Javier Penuelas in a 3-3 deadlock with Morelia on Friday, while the other two matches on Sunday also ended in draws.

Omar Bravo helped Atlas to a 1-1 stalemate at UNAM with his goal in the 79th minute, while Guadalajara and Toluca traded goals in the final 10 minutes of their 1-1 draw.

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Viva Taekwondo! Mexico Steps Up as Taekwondo Powerhouse

http://www.arirang.co.kr/Player/News_Vod.asp?code=News&nSeq=141122

It's almost 8 p.m. here in the Mexican city of Puebla, but children haven't gone to bed yet.

Rather, they're sweating and shouting, practicing Taekwondo with their friends.

"How many times do you come here to practice "Everyday. An hour each day."

Parents here don't just drop their kids off and leave -- they sit and watch them kick and jump through the entire hour.

[Interview : Angela Maria Avendano Luna, Mother of a student] "I come here everyday to see my son.

This class is for the advanced, red belt kids. And because the national championships are only a week away, the training is more intense these days."

[Interview : Gabriel Diaz Rodriguez, Taekwondo Master

Moo Duk Kwan Taekwondo Reforma] "After football, Taekwondo is the sport most practiced in Mexico.

Here in Puebla, there are about 200 Taekwondo schools in town with about 50 students enrolled on average per school."

Whether they're 5 years old or 12, their dreams are nothing less than those of the grown ups.

[Interview : ] "I want to be a professional athlete and go to the Olympic Games."

[Interview : ] "I want to go to the Olympics."

And their dreams of becoming world-level Taekwondo athletes and meeting those who actually took part in the summer Olympics, may soon become reality.

Continue reading the interview on Taekwondo in Mexico at Arirang.co.kr!

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Cruz Azul Handles Puebla 2-0 to Take Second Spot in Apertura

Javier Orozco led Cruz Azul to a 2-0 victory over Puebla, moving the capital side level on points with leader Tigres, which has a better goal differential. After a first half which Puebla slightly edged, Cruz Azul had a pair of shouts for a penalty and red card turned down by referee Cesar Ramos, who did not have the best of games. Nonetheless, Orozco, a 72nd minute substitute came through for the home side with a pair of goals in the 77th and 90th minutes – the first a header from a corner and the second a placed finish – to give his team all three points.

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Santos Laguna take out streaking Puebla 2-1

Carlos Quintero and Oribe Peralta scored on either side of halftime to lift Santos Laguna past Puebla 2-1 Sunday at Estadio Cuauhtemoc.

The loss snapped a five-game unbeaten streak for Puebla (3-4-3, 13 pts).

Quintero opened the scoring from the top of the arc in the 45th minute, and Peralta left the Guerreros (4-2-3, 14 pts) with a 2-0 lead in the 47th. Christian Suarez set the play in motion with a cross from the left side.

Ten minutes later, Peralta’s foul inside the box allowed Duvier Riascos to put Puebla on the board with a penalty kick.

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Beasley making possible move to Puebla

According to mlssoccer.com, DaMarcus Beasley is on the verge of completing a move to join Mexican Priméra División club Puebla on a two-year contract.

“[Beasley] has not signed as yet,” Lyle Yorks told MLSsoccer.com. “The deal is likely, but he is a Hannover player. There still needs to be an agreement in place between Hannover and Puebla.”

Yorks indicated it might take a few days for the clubs to make final arrangements and Puebla have said that they expect Beasley to officially join the team for preseason training on Monday.

“The player has accepted to come to Puebla,” Ricardo Henaine told FutbolMLS.com on Wednesday. “Hopefully it will work out for us like it did with Herculez [Gomez], who was a top scorer with us in his first season. For us, to bring in an American player with [Beasley's] characteristics and together with the Mexican talent [at Puebla], I am sure he will become a star that no one is expecting.”

Having the 29 year old Beasley on any team would be a welcomed addition. His speed and natural athleticism could add depth and experience to a young squad like Puebla. Hopefully more details will emerge on Thursday, which we will be sure to keep you updated.

(All reporting credit courtesy of MLS SOCCER and Tom Marshall - @mexicoworldcup).

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