Puebla (Mexico), Jul 15 (IANS): The 2013 World Taekwondo Championships opened at the exhibition centre in Central Mexico's city of Puebla, with the participation of 872 athletes from 134 countries and regions and more than 5,000-strong local audience.

The opening ceremony Sunday night started with folk dances that showed the legend of Popocatepetl, which is an active volcano located in the states of Puebla and the second highest peak in Mexico, and considered as the "faithful guardian of Puebla", reports Xinhua.

Puebla State Governor Rafael Moreno Valle and the president of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), Choue Chung-won, opened the biennial championships which are scheduled for July 15-21.

Choue thanked the Organising Committee of Puebla for agreeing to host the 2013 World Championships. He hoped that Puebla will hold the best championships ever seen in history, highlighting the state government's performance in the preparation of this tournament and ensuring that taekwondo was more successful than ever.

For the Puebla championships, the 21st edition of its kind for men and 14th for women, a total of 134 countries and regions submitted their entry forms involving 872 athletes to the WTF.

The previous World Taekwondo Championships were held in Gyeongju, South Korea in 2011, attracting 950 athletes from a record 149 countries and regions on entry basis.