Onepride Future Champ Taekwondo Series 2026 is moving toward its September main event after a Jakarta selection narrowed a field of around 80 young athletes. Only 20 to 30 competitors are expected to advance to the tournament at GOR Ciracas, East Jakarta, on September 11–13.
Young taekwondo athletes took part in a qualifying session in North Jakarta on August 16 as organizers narrowed the field for the 2026 Onepride Future Champ Taekwondo Series, scheduled for September 11–13 at GOR Ciracas in East Jakarta.
The screening, held at Ibis Styles Jakarta Sunter, brought together children across several age divisions. An initial figure described participation as approaching 100 athletes, while CR Taekwondo Academy coach Karra Ferennika later put the number competing that day at around 80.
Only 20 to 30 are expected to advance to the September event.
Karra, who serves as PIC Coach for CR Taekwondo Academy, said the annual process is intended to identify athletes with the strongest potential and give them access to a larger competitive setting connected with Onepride.
“Jadi event tahunan ini kita juga sambil mencari talenta yang akan kita peruntukkan untuk pertandingan Onepride MMA nanti,” Karra said on Sunday, August 16.
“Supaya nanti di pertandingan itu kita akan berikan atlet-atlet terbaik kita untuk bertanding di MMA,” she added.
The comments place the taekwondo program within a wider talent-development strategy being pursued by Onepride. At this stage, however, the immediate pathway remains the Future Champ Taekwondo Series, where selected athletes will compete under taekwondo rules.
Field to Be Reduced to 20–30 Athletes
Participants in the Jakarta screening ranged from very young beginners through children in the 12-plus age category, with divisions separated according to the requirements of the competition.
Karra said the organizers would cut the field substantially before the main event.
“Untuk kelompok rasionya dari usia 3 tahun sampai 12 tahun plus. Jadi untuk peserta hari ini sekitar 80 siswa yang akan mengikuti pertandingan hari ini, dan kita akan saring lagi menjadi sekitar 20 sampai 30 yang akan bertanding di One Pride,” she said.
That means most athletes who entered the North Jakarta session will not progress to GOR Ciracas. The qualifying format is designed to identify competitors considered ready for the next stage rather than automatically giving every participant a place on the September card.
For younger athletes, the process also provides structured competition outside regular training. They are required to perform techniques against opponents, manage the pace of a match and respond to the pressure of an organized tournament environment.
Those experiences can become part of longer-term athlete development, although advancement will depend on technical progress, physical development and continued competition as they move through older divisions.
Competition to Follow PBTI Regulations
Organizers said both the qualifying process and the September tournament will operate within Indonesia’s established taekwondo competition framework.
Karra said the event will follow regulations used by Pengurus Besar Taekwondo Indonesia, or PBTI, including requirements covering age, belt level and body weight.
“Untuk regulasinya kita tetap mengikuti PBTI dan juga eh untuk kisaran usia, sabuk, dan juga berat badan kita harus mengikuti pertandingan regulasi dari PBTI,” Karra said.
Those classifications matter in youth competition because athletes need to be grouped according to appropriate competitive categories rather than being matched solely on availability.
The Sunter session was not the first stage of the program this month. A previous event under the Try Out Visit banner was held at GOR Kalisari in Cijantung, East Jakarta, on August 2.
Onepride Expands Into Youth Taekwondo Development
Onepride Future Champ Taekwondo Series is a program developed by Onepride together with tvOne. It extends the Onepride name beyond its established involvement in Indonesian combat sports by creating a competition platform focused on younger taekwondo athletes.
The September 11–13 event at GOR Ciracas will provide the next test for those who emerge from the qualifying rounds.
For Onepride, the initiative also creates an earlier entry point into athlete development. Rather than engaging competitors only after they reach senior combat sports, the program places attention on children already training within a structured martial arts system.
The significance of that approach will depend on what follows the tournament: whether athletes receive sustained competition, coaching opportunities and a development pathway as they progress through later age groups.
For now, the Jakarta screenings are determining who gets the next opportunity.
From a field of roughly 80 participants cited by Karra on August 16, only around 20 to 30 are expected to reach the Onepride Future Champ Taekwondo Series in September.
