With ever-growing stress in today's fastpaced and highly competitive world, the importance of staying fit is paramount. There are various ways and means to do so, but an ideal combination is one of fitness and self-defence.

One such sport is Taekwondo.

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As a quote reads ~ wearing a black belt does not mean you are invincible, it means you never gave up, worked past the pain, overcame the disappointments, didn't cave into your doubts, faced your fears, and learned enough to realise how little you actually know.

The recently held SAI Korean Ambassador's Cup Taekwondo Championship held at the KD Jadhav Wrestling Hall, Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, New Delhi proved the truth of this quote.

The championship was organised by Embassy of the Republic of Korea to India and the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

The opening ceremony was graced by the Ambassador Cho Hyun, SAI Secretary SS Chabra, SAI Regional Director Sanjay Saraswat and Administrator of Indira Gandhi Stadium Manjushree Dayanand.

The objective of this first taekwondo championship, organised together by the Indian and Korean governments, was to boost the popularity of taekwondo in India.

The event tried to encourage Indian athletes to prepare themselves better for winning medals in the upcoming 2018 Asian Games.

Speaking on the occasion, said, "As Korea-India relations deepen and expand, it is most desirable that the two nations promote sports and cultural exchanges and strengthen mutual understanding and friendship amongst our people." He also added that taekwondo is necessary for the development of the body, soul and mind, similar to how we find yoga in India. Sanjay Saraswat congratulated all the participants. He added that this kind of cultural cooperation will strengthen bonds of friendship between the two countries. He also informed that the selected players, from the tournament will participate in the Korea Open Championship. The competition had two parts ~ Kyorugi (fight) and Poomsae (set sequence) ~ which witnessed the participation of both men and women from regional centres of SAI under the categories of cadet, junior and senior. As many as 394 athletes participated in 221 matches in Kyourgi and 48 matches in Poomsae made the entire match thrilling. The championship saw participation from nine different regional centres of SAI. A total of 176 medals were given for the cadet and junior winners of Kyourgi amd Poomsae tournaments, while 72 medals were given to the senior winners. The Regional Centre of Kerala was awarded the winner's trophy in the overall championship. The high level of motivation among participants in the championship brought a lot of praise. Sarvona Kumar, a senior winner under 67 kg, Regional Centre ~ Mumbai said, "I am an international taekwondo player. Today, I won a gold medal, but I was not satisfied with my moves. I have to improve my moves for my future championship. This tournament has helped me a great deal in doing so." Director of Korean Cultural Centre India Kim Kum Pyoung commented that the championship will not end with just awarding winners but continue through joint training camps for selected talents to continuously enhance their performances. After the completion of this championship, SAI and the Korean Embassy will conduct a two-week training camp for the first and second position holders of the senior category. Selected players will compete in the 'Chuncheon Korea Open International Taekwondo Championship' as a part of a onemonth intensive training camp in Korea. As a renowned Korean martial art, taekwondo is played in approximately 200 countries all over the world and has been an Olympic event since 2000. During the championship, the visitors enjoyed the Samulnori Performance, a taekwondo demonstration, dance performances by the KCCI Team and a Rhythmic Gymnastics Performance by SAI. Clearly, sports is not only for the mind, body and spirit, but wonderfully also brings cultures together, by enhancing understanding, adaption and openness to learn and accept ~ real-life power skills.