Sports
400,000 Nigerians Participate In Taekwondo – Korea Envoy
The population of those now involved in taekwondo in Nigeria is now about 400,000, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nigeria, Choi Jong-Hyun, said on Saturday in Abuja.
He said this in his address at the opening ceremony of the third edition of the Korean Ambassador’s Cup West Africa International Taekwondo Championship.
The Tidesports reports that the five-day championship which began on Thursday was officially declared open at the Velodrome of the Abuja National Stadium on Saturday.
Choi said the sport has grown tremendously in the country as it has acquired more universality with about 70 million practitioners in 191 countries across the world.
“It is said that sports has a universal language, and taekwondo has acquired more universality in that language.
“This has led to this traditional Korean sport being one of the official medal events at the Summer Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000,’’ he said.
The ambassador said among Nigeria’s taekwondo 400,000 population are young members of the Taekwondo Club of the Korean Cultural Centre who displayed remarkable skills during the championship’s last edition in 2010.
He said the sport has enjoyed similar popularity in the other parts of the world, including the five other west African countries represented at the championship by their taekwondoists.
Choi pointed out that taekwondo was not just about sport but also about discipline, humility and perseverance, saying this was why the South Korean government has been making tremendous efforts to ensure its popularity.
“My government has made tremendous efforts over the past five decades to share this sport with all those living on this planet so that they can also benefit from such value by practising one of the oldest Asian martial arts,’’ he said.
The ambassador then thanked Sen. Uche Chukwumerije, the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the President of the Nigerian Taekwondo Federation (TFN), Jonathan Nnaji for their support for the sport.
He also expressed the full commitment of the government and people of Republic of Korea to further promoting the sport in Nigeria and West Africa as a whole.
In his address at the occasion, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Habu Gumel, described the championship as a catalyst to the sport’s development in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.
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