Türkiye Open 2026 opens in Antalya with 3,278 athletes from 67 countries
Antalya is once again positioning itself as one of the major competitive hubs on the international circuit as the 13th International Türkiye Open gets underway, bringing together emerging prospects, established contenders and Para Taekwondo athletes across a packed program that includes Poomsae, Kyorugi and Para Poomsae.
Antalya is once again positioning itself as one of the major competitive hubs on the international circuit as the 13th International Türkiye Open gets underway, bringing together emerging prospects, established contenders and Para Taekwondo athletes across a packed program that includes Poomsae, Kyorugi and Para Poomsae.
Organized by the Türkiye Taekwondo Federation, the tournament opens on March 24 in Antalya and will run through March 31. The schedule begins with Poomsae competition, followed on March 25 by Para Taekwondo action in both Kyorugi and Poomsae. Cadet matches are set for March 26-27, juniors for March 28-29, and seniors for March 30-31.
The scale of the event once again underlines Türkiye’s weight on the global Taekwondo calendar. According to official information presented ahead of the tournament, Antalya will host 3,278 athletes from 67 countries, while the host nation will field 254 national team athletes. The competition is being staged at Antalya Sports Hall, a venue with a 10,000-seat capacity that has become a proven setting for major international events.
During the official press conference, Türkiye Taekwondo Federation President Bahri Tanrıkulu emphasized both the prestige and the strategic importance of the tournament. “We are hosting a tournament that has earned worldwide recognition,” he said, stressing that even though this year’s edition carries G1 status, its depth and structure resemble something much bigger. “Rather than just an international competition, we are delivering an organization with world championship quality,” Tanrıkulu added.
Tanrıkulu also highlighted the event’s sporting value for the shaping of national teams and for international qualification pathways. He recalled that Türkiye topped the 2025 edition with 56 gold, 40 silver and 43 bronze medals, and pointed out that this year’s tournament will again help define the country’s competitive structure moving toward upcoming continental and world-level commitments. In the same breath, he linked the event to the longer road to Los Angeles 2028, insisting that investment in depth and development must eventually translate into Olympic success.
The Turkish federation chief also reinforced a message that goes beyond medals. With 180,000 licensed athletes, the federation continues to frame grassroots development as a central institutional priority. In modern Taekwondo, major Opens no longer function only as ranking opportunities or medal stages; they also operate as platforms for observation, selection and consolidation of future national teams. Türkiye wants Antalya to be exactly that: a high-performance engine with international reach.
From the World Taekwondo side, Technical Delegate Usman Dildar praised the tournament’s continued growth and organizational consistency. He noted that the event improves year after year and spoke positively about both the local working environment and the hospitality shown to international delegations. Dildar also underscored the significance of the Para Taekwondo segment, suggesting that the atmosphere in Antalya offers many athletes an experience comparable to competing at world championship level.
Antalya Youth and Sports Provincial Director Yavuz Gürhan framed the tournament within the city’s broader identity, where sport, tourism and international projection intersect. His remarks reinforced a point MASTKD has frequently highlighted across different regions: when Taekwondo is backed by infrastructure, institutional support and continuity, it stops being just a tournament and becomes a tool for territorial and sporting positioning.
With the opening ceremony scheduled for Friday at 3:00 p.m., Türkiye Open 2026 begins another edition carrying significant numbers and clear ambition. Antalya is not only opening its doors to the world once again; it is also sending a strong message that Türkiye intends to remain a central actor in the highest-level conversation of global Taekwondo.
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