The immediate past President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), George Ashiru newsmen has restated his commitment to the development of the sport in the country.
Ashiru told Tidesports source yesterday in Lagos that it was because of his passion for the sport that had made him to remain involved in its development.
“Apart from being a sports fan; I love taekwondo and it is part of me. So I cannot help but identify with its development because taekwondo flows in my veins like blood.
“I have judiciously served my tenure on the NTF board, and I am still a board member and ever willing to associate with programmes that will boost it from its present standard.
“I was at the Lagos Taekwondo Classics when it was held in the last quarter of 2017.  I was happy and impressed with the event and progress of the athletes,” he said.
Ashiru, who is also the vice-president of the technical committee of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), told newsmen that he intended to organise a capacity-building workshop to hone the skills of grassroots’ coaches.
“My activities have not stopped; I have plans to pass my wealth of knowledge acquired at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sponsored seminar which held recently in Sierra Leone to up-and-coming coaches, “he said.
He added that the sport had gained grounds in recent times through the involvement of privately owned schools that have taekwondo as part of their extra-curricular activities.
“Taekwondo has become a household name in schools; some have gone the extra mile to get certified coaches for pupils that want to build a career in the sport.
“It is a sport that imparts discipline, competition values and defence strategy from junior class, and I am glad that parents and school administrators are encouraging their wards to imbibe these core values,” he said.