Rawi Chandrikasingh represented Suriname for the first time at the World Poomsae Championships. The taekwondo tournament took place in Chuncheon, South Korea, from September 16 to 20.
Chandrikasingh competed in the individual category for men under 30. Against an opponent from Malaysia, he achieved a score of 8.34 points, his personal record at an international tournament. Despite that performance, he was eliminated.
His participation marks a historic milestone for Surinamese taekwondo. Chandrikasingh hopes that his experience will encourage other athletes to also compete at this level. “This was my first World Championship, and also Suriname’s first in this discipline. I am grateful for this experience and hope that more athletes will be inspired to stand with me at the World Championship in Turkey in two years!”
Poomsae is a competition discipline within taekwondo in which athletes perform fixed movement patterns, also known as forms, as accurately as possible. The assessment focuses on technical execution and presentation, including strength, rhythm and the expression of energy, or ‘ki’. The participant with the highest score advances to the next round.
According to the information provided, the World Championships in Chuncheon attracted a record number of 1,500 participants from 80 countries.
