sports

The 14th National People’s Games, which were opened in February, go on in Pyongyang and elsewhere.

The games are held, divided into professional sports sector and general sector (every provincial and ministry and national agency categories).

Eye-catching national martial arts matches

What drew special attention in the games were the general sector (every provincial category) matches of the Taekwon-Do tournament held at the Taekwon-Do Holy House.

In the tournament held, divided into four events, special technique and power breaking matches were the focus of attention.

In particular, it was the first time to arrange the comprehensive power breaking match in the history of mass-based Taekwon-Do tournament, and therefore people showed special interest in that.

Whenever players demonstrated the might of Taekwon-Do with rapid and precise breaking actions using hands and feet, spectators burst into cheers and applause.

Individual special technique and individual power breaking events also highlighted the power of Taekwon-Do.

A player of the Jagang Provincial Team broke five 1cm-thick pine boards to hold the top record in the individual power breaking event.

The North Hwanghae Provincial Team came first in the team pattern event held prior to the special technique and power breaking events. Its players’ performance was perfect in terms of unity of action, strength, speed, rhythm and ensemble.

The team, which had taken the first place in the total standings of the Taekwon-Do tournament of the National Inter-provincial Games last year, won the recent contest where the team rankings were decided by synthesizing the scores of all those events.

Impressive volleyball and tennis events

The volleyball and tennis competitions in the general sector (every provincial category), which were held fiercely for consecutive days at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, have come to an end.

In particular, the finals were constantly fierce and thrilling, leaving a deep impression on the audience.

The final volleyball match was held between the South Phyongan Provincial Team which won the volleyball event at the previous National Inter-provincial Games several times and the South Hamgyong Provincial Team which advanced to the final match for the first time.

The game was breathtaking from the beginning and each round ended by two- to three-point gap for the great physical and technical abilities of players of both teams.

Whenever players displayed diverse and powerful moves including instantaneously high jump, continuous blow and rapid ball handling, spectators broke into loud cheers and applause.

The South Phyongan Provincial Team beat the South Hamgyong Provincial Team in the seesaw match.

Meanwhile, the Pyongyang municipal and Kangwon provincial teams competed in the tennis final. The latter won the men's doubles which was fiercely played to the 9th set, upsetting the expectations of experts and spectators.

Though the former lost the match, it won the women’s and mixed doubles to take the first place in the total standing and lift the trophy.

Taesongsan demonstrates power as strong team in winter sports 

The speed skating contest of the 14th National People's Games was held at the speed skating gymnasium of Sports Village in the Mt. Paektu area for several days and came to a close.

It drew players from different teams including the Taesongsan, Taeryonggang and Sajabong sports clubs.

In the contest individual men’s and women’s and team games of different skating events were played to decide on the total rankings.

The Taesongsan Sports Team came first in total standings in the speed skating event, demonstrating its power as a strong team.

In particular, its players broke set a new national record in the men’s short distance team pursuit race.