S Korea pledges further taekwondo support
ONE of taekwondo’s superpowers, South Korea has pledged its sustained support to Cambodia as the Kingdom expands its medal ambitions beyond Asian Games gold medallist and Rio Olympics qualifier Sorn Seavmey.
As the 22-year-old Seavmey continues to inspire new crop of youngsters with her string of achievements, the Kingdom is now building a strong platform with which to generate a succession of skillful taekwondo practitioners to win medals in regional and international competitions.
It was in this context that the Kingdom received with great enthusiasm at the weekend Oh Hyun-deuk, the head of Kukkiwon, which is also known as the World Taekwondo Headquarters and is the home of the World Taekwondo Academy established by the South Korean government.
During t heir of f icia l meeting, Oh a nd t he president of t he Nat iona l Oly mpic Committee of Ca mbodia, T hong K hon, d isc ussed i n dept h several key areas where South Korea’s taek wondo ex per t ise cou ld help in t he nu r t u r i ng of t he K i ngdom’s emerging ta lent.
The NOCC chief reportedly sought Kukkiwon’s support in helping Cambodian coaches and to get young fighters to train in South Korea ahead of major competitions
For his part, Oh reportedly assured the Kingdom of all possible help from Ku k k iwon, i nclud i ng schola rsh ips for ta lented f ig hters a nd sending a team of coaches to help Cambodian taek wondo practitioners.
Before his meeting with the NOCC chief, Oh met Dr Hang Choun Naron, minister for education, youth and sport, who is also the president of Cambodian Taekwondo Federation.