Exponents become the victims

latest case involving Taekwondo Selangor is nothing new Malaysian taekwondo has long suffered from internal bickering.

Regardless of who is right or wrong, such issues only hold the sport back and more worryingly, hurt those who are the very essence of taekwondo - the exponents themselves.

Collin Lee, the father of promising exponent Marcus Lee, said it was sad to see politics disrupting the sport.

Marcus, coached by world championship bronze medallist Chew Wei Yan, is among the 52 Selangor exponents affected by the issue.

“I always go for my son’s training and spend three hours or so watching them train. It’s not just me you should see but all the parents that support their children in the sport,” said Collin.

“Issues like this definitely affect both the children and also the parents who have sacrificed a lot for the sport.

“My son asked me the other day why there is also politics in sports.

“I had to give a long explanation to him on the way back home from training.”

Collin added that children should not become the victims of politics in sports and he hopes such issues can be resolved and avoided, going forward.

Taekwondo was last year removed from the core sports programme by the Sports Ministry due to the various issues it faced such as the various bickering rival national associations in the past. Taekwondo Malaysia (TM) is currently the official national body.