Twenty of Australia’s rising Taekwondo stars will challenge the world’s best at the 13th edition of the World Junior Taekwondo Championships in Sofia this week.

Australia will be amongst 811 junior athletes, aged between 14 and 17, from 90 countries, including one refugee team, competing at the Arena Armeec from August 2-7.

These promising athletes earned their spot on the Australian team by winning their weight categories at the 2022 World Junior Championships Selection Event at the Whitlam Centre in Liverpool.

The Championships are being staged for the first time in four years, when the 2018 edition was held in Hammamet, Tunisia.

World Taekwondo President, Chungwon Choue, said that much like the World Taekwondo Cadet Championships, the World Junior Taekwondo Championships would shape the sport’s champions of tomorrow.

“The importance of the World Taekwondo Cadet Championships cannot be understated. At the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, 17 out of the 32 medallists had medalled either at the World Taekwondo Cadet or Junior Championships, or at the Youth Olympic Games,” President Choue said.

“This goes to show that the Junior athletes who will be competing in Sofia have the potential to be nurtured into World or Olympic champions.”

Who are the Aussies fighting?

The Aussies will begin their campaign in the Round of 32 today. You can grab the draws here.

How long are the fights?

2 minutes x 3 (2) rounds with 1 minute break for all matches.

Where can I watch them?

You can tune in to the Championships via World Taekwondo’s Live Stream on YouTube.

What time are the fights?

The official tournament timetable can be found here.

Where can I find the tournament’s results?

If the Eastern European Summer Time Zone gets the better of you, you can check out the official results at this link.