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.