Combat sport goes contactless

A contestant wearing a VR headset during a virtual taekwondo bout at the 2026 Chuncheon Korea Open International Taekwondo Championships in Chuncheon, South Korea. The contactless version of the Korean martial art is making its debut at this year’s Asian Games. — Jean Chung/The New York Times

THE two fighters were an unlikely matchup. One was a 1.8m-tall man from the United States. His opponent, a Japanese woman, was about a head shorter and at least 4kg lighter.

But in this virtual competition, they were evenly matched.