FMTKD suspended due to "governance issues"
It's time to reorganize taekwondo: Oscar Salazar
FMTKD suspended due to governance issues
The former Olympic medalist said it is an opportunity to end what turned a successful sport into a mafia.
▲ The level of Mexican taekwondo has been declining, after failing to win a single medal at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Photo @FMTKD
Karla Torrijos
La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, May 10, 2025, p. 9
The Mexican Taekwondo Federation (FMTCD) joined the various sports organizations in the country that have experienced administrative irregularities after being suspended yesterday by the discipline's international federation (World Taekwondo) due to statutory and governance issues related to its electoral process last year
.
According to a statement issued by the international body, which also announced the disqualification of the Costa Rican federation due to serious protection concerns
, these sanctions come after the World Taekwondo Council approved the recommendations of the Member Relations and Development Commission (MRD) to suspend both organizations in order to establish provisional directives together in consultation and cooperation with the respective local sports authorities
.
He indicated that these boards will oversee certain aspects of the operations of both federations during the suspension period
.
Following the announcement of this decision, which was taken during the meeting held by the World Taekwondo Council before the start of the Cadet World Championship to be held this weekend in the city of Fujariha, in the United Arab Emirates, the FMTKD published a statement indicating that the international federation requested its cooperation with an interim body on matters related to the electoral process
.
He also mentioned that he has acted and will act in strict compliance with the law and with respect for both internal processes and international regulatory frameworks. We reiterate our commitment to transparency, institutionality, and the development of our sport
.
The aforementioned electoral process took place on August 23rd of last year, when the FMTKD called an illegal assembly in Villahermosa, Tabasco, where Raymundo González sought to seek reelection for a third consecutive term as president of the organization, now from 2024 to 2028. However, this was prevented thanks to the intervention of the National Commission for Physical Culture and Sports and the Sports Electoral Surveillance Council.
During González's administration, which began in 2016, Mexican taekwondo has been in decline, with no medals won in the discipline at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where the Mexican delegation had excelled at previous events.
Thanks to the Olympic medals won by María del Rosario Espinoza (in Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016), Víctor Estrada, Guillermo Pérez, and the Salazar siblings Óscar and Iridia, Mexico had established itself as an international benchmark in taekwondo; however, that status has faded in recent years.
Help has arrived
According to Óscar Salazar, who won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, this suspension is a very positive development. It makes me very happy because it's a new opportunity to restructure our sport. It means the international federation isn't ignoring us; it has taken note of the problems that exist in our country and wants to help us solve them
.
In an interview with La Jornada , the former taekwondo practitioner indicated that this situation should be used to reorganize what had become a mafia, a sport that stopped producing the good results it had been getting, that forgot to support athletes as it had been doing. What we had had transformed into something different; now it was more important to punish than to promote the discipline
.
He recounted that, in his case, FMTKD closed its doors to him because he dared to speak out. They adopted a position where if you had a different opinion, or if they didn't like you, you were a bad person. The same thing happened to many young people who had the intention and desire to practice this sport, but due to poor management, they couldn't do so, and several talents were lost who surely would have given us good results in international competitions, like the Olympic Games, where they haven't stood out recently
.
He acknowledged that it will be difficult
to regain the prestige that Mexican taekwondo once had on an international scale, but he was confident that the country's sports authorities, athletes, and coaches will take this as a turning point to once again promote the discipline that has brought us so much joy and satisfaction
.
Gold for the women's archery team in China
From the Editorial Staff
La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, May 10, 2025, p. 9
Mexicans Andrea Becerra, Mariana Bernal, and Adriana Castillo won gold in the women's compound archery team event after defeating India in the final of the World Cup in Shanghai, China.
The Tricolors first defeated Chinese Taipei to advance to the semifinals, where they defeated Turkey. In the decisive match, they secured first place with a 234-222 victory over India.
Becerra will continue competing in the individual category, where she currently holds the world ranking of number one.
Meanwhile, the men's team, comprised of Sebastián García, Luis Lezama, and Rodrigo González, won the silver medal in their respective finals, losing 232-228 to the Indian team, which took the gold.
Meanwhile, Matías Grande continues his good run, having qualified for the semifinals yesterday.
After finishing seventh in the qualifying round, the reigning Pan American champion returned to the shooting range with the intention of placing among the top four in the second stage of the World Archery Series.
To advance, he won four consecutive matches: 7-1 against the Swiss Thomas Rufer, 7-3 against the Bangladeshi Abdur Rahman, 7-1 against the Brazilian Marcus D'Almeida and 7-1 against the Dutch Willem Bakker.
▲ The Baja California native placed at the top of the race. Photo @uae_team_emirates
From the Editorial Staff
La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, May 10, 2025, p. a10
Mexican cyclist Isaac del Toro doesn't differentiate between rivals or categories. As a star teammate of Spaniard Juan Ayuso and Briton Adam Yates, who started as general classification contenders in the 108th edition of the Giro d'Italia, the 21-year-old competitor crossed the line yesterday alongside the pack of favorites to provisionally place himself at the top of the pack during his debut in one of the most prestigious competitions in the sport in the world.
Born in Ensenada, Baja California, the UAE Team Emirates cyclist worked hard for his leaders. His presence in the Giro represents a major achievement for Mexico in the discipline, as it recalls our country's historic triumphs in men's road cycling with Julio Alberto Pérez Cuapio. Leveraging his competitive mindset, Del Toro finished in 20th place with the same time (3:36.24) as other stars, such as Colombian Nairo Quintana, achieved after the race.
The Giro d'Italia began yesterday in Albania and will finish on June 1st at the Vatican, in tribute to Pope Francis. There will be a total of 21 stages: two time trials, six sprint stages, eight medium-mountain stages, and five high-altitude stages with 30 kilometers of unpaved roads. There will also be three rest days.
Spaniard Mikel Landa leaves
At the end of the first stage, Danish cyclist Mads Pedersen won in Tirana and secured the overall leader's pink jersey , on a day marked by the crash and retirement of Spaniard Mikel Landa.
The Basque rider from Soudal Quick-Step, who finished third in the Giro in 2015 and 2022, suffered a fractured vertebra, as determined at the hospital through a scan and medical tests. Landa, in severe pain, was taken off on a stretcher and wearing a neck brace after falling onto the asphalt during a descent five kilometers from the finish.
For the moment, Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) was the first to raise his arms, narrowly beating the sprint of Belgian Wout van Aert, within a group of around thirty riders that included all the main favorites of this Giro , except Landa. Venezuelan Orluis Aular (Movistar Team) followed them on his wheel and placed third overall.
"I wasn't feeling very well during the stage, but I wanted to try because there are few opportunities to win the pink jersey . It's a shame to have finished second, but it was better than I expected," said Van Aert, who has been hampered by illness in recent weeks.
It's the 29-year-old Pedersen's second stage win at the Giro , following a stage victory in 2023. Sunday marks the final stage in Albania before the peloton heads to Italy on Monday, a rest day.
With information from AFP
FIFA will expand the Women's World Cup to 48 teams in 2031.
AFP
La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, May 10, 2025, p. a10
Paris. The Women's World Cup will increase from 32 to 48 teams, the same number as the men's tournament, starting with the 2031 edition. This decision was taken unanimously at the FIFA Council's videoconference meeting , taking into account the significant progress recently made by women's football around the world
, the organization said in a statement.
In the men's World Cup, the expansion to 48 teams will take effect in the 2026 edition, which will be played in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The last women's tournament, which Spain won in Australia-New Zealand in 2023, was the first with 32 teams, and the next one, in 2027 in Brazil, will repeat the same number.
The event will be expanded to 48 participants in 2031, an edition that still has no official venue, although the United States is emerging as the host.
This new modification to the Cup was hinted at by an announcement made by FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the UEFA Congress held in Belgrade in April. "It's not just about having 16 additional teams, but about taking a further step in the development of women's football in general
," he explained.
The director thus expressed his desire that more members now have the opportunity to take advantage of the tournament to develop their own football structures in this category
.
The fact that more representatives can access elite competition
will accelerate investment in women's football around the world
, FIFA stressed.
The United States is the only candidate for the 2031 edition so far, while the United Kingdom, with its four federations (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), is hoping to host the 2035 edition.
To host the 2031 World Cup, the Americans could partner with other CONCACAF members
, such as Mexico, Infantino revealed in Belgrade. If so, it would follow the model of the 2026 Men's World Cup.
Cowboy struggles to get off the scale
▲ Emanuel Vaquero Navarrete (left) struggled yesterday when he made the weight class on his third attempt to make his first defense of the World Boxing Organization super featherweight championship. The Mexican first missed by 0.3 pounds and then reached the 130 pounds required by the division. The Mexican will face Filipino Charly Suárez (129.9 pounds) today in San Diego, after winning the title in December in a battle in which he defeated Sonoran Oscar Valdez. Photo @Toprank
La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, May 10, 2025, p. a10
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