THE target of 600 exponents has been met and its all systems go for the 4th Nestle Koko Krunch Junior Taekwondo Championships at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium in Cheras on Saturday.
The fifth and final coaching clinic was held in Taman Klang Jaya, Klang yesterday with 200 exponents attending.
The clinic, which gave an insight to exponents on what to expect during the championships, was conducted by coaches from the Malaysia Taekwondo Clubs Association (MTCA).
"It promises to be another exciting affair based on how quickly the 600-target was met.
"In fact, we had to limit the number of entries per team to accommodate more clubs as the response following the launch was overwhelming," said an MTCA spokesman.
An annual affair since 2006, Saturday's championships will see 40 clubs and districts competing.
"There will be 10 weight divisions each for the boys and girls and some divisions will see as many as 40 competing for honours.
"What makes it remarkable is the fact that all 10 weight divisions in the girls will also see keen competition."
Launched by National Sports Council director general Datuk Zolkples Embong on March 11, the five coaching clinics saw a total 1,000 exponents participating.
"The clinics will prove useful to the exponents as the championships are meant as exposure for young exponents, some of who will be competing for the first time."
Saturday's championships will be followed by a leg in Muar, Johor on May 16. Three coaching clinics will be held prior -- in Muar, Batu Pahat and Johor.
For details, contact A. Pravin at 016-6177308 as the Muar championships are limited to 400 exponents.
http://www.nst.com.my/
Exponents taekwondo fighter
Taekwondo events in University of Berkeley
Taekwondo athletes from around the world will converge on the UC-Berkeley campus for three days of competition in May. The 1st Pan-Am University Taekwondo Championship will take place May 28-29 and the 40th UC Open Taekwondo Championship will be held May 30.
Both events will take place in Haas Pavilion on the UC-Berkeley campus. For the Pan-Am tournament, doors open at 5:00 PM on the 28th and 9:00 AM on the 29th. For UC Open, doors open at 6:30 AM and the opening ceremony begins at 8:30 AM.
Taekwondo, "the way of the foot and fist," is a full-contact martial art based on ancient Korean self-defense techniques. Taekwondo athletes are noted for their powerful kicks and agile footwork. In both tournaments, athletes will compete in forms (poomse) and Olympic style free sparring (gyoroogi).
The UC Martial Arts Program is an organization devoted to bringing exceptional martial arts instruction to UC-Berkeley and the local community. Founded in 1969, it is a pioneer in martial arts instruction, hosting multiple tournaments each year and sending its taekwondo competition team to victory in nearly thirty National Collegiate Championships.
Since the first tournament forty years ago, the UC Open has grown into one of the largest and most popular taekwondo tournaments on the West Coast.
This year UCMAP expects around 700 competitors from around the world to participate.
The 1st Pan-Am University Taekwondo Championship is the culmination of efforts by the Organización Deportiva Universitaria Panamericana (ODUPA), a group of countries in the Americas promoting the development of collegiate sports. ODUPA is a part of the International University Sports
Federation (FISU). Competitors from more than forty countries have been invited to participate in the Pan-Am tournament.
For additional information:
http://www.ucmap.org/uc-open.php
http://www.ucmap.org/pan-am/
Contact:
Jessie Lougheed
145 RSF, 2301 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA 94720
Phone: 510-642-3268
Jessie_lougheed@berkeley.edu
Chamopion crowned at Pusat Cemerlang
The Pusat Cemerlang Negeri team of the United Labuan Taekwondo Association (WTF) was crowned the overall champion at the 30th Labuan Closed Inter-Centre Taekwondo Championship.
The team's medal haul of 5 golds, 3 silvers and 3 bronzes saw them take home the challenge trophy.
In second spot was Labuan Sport Complex Centre winning 4 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals while in third spot was Town Centre 1 (last year's champion) with 3 golds, 5 silvers and 4 bronzes.
The remaining two other spots went to Town Centre 2 with 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals followed by Masturi Centre with 1 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze medals.
The prizes were given away by Assistant Director of Youth and Sports Department. Ronnie Boniface Ngui.
According to organising chairman, Lim Sek Ming, the objective of the competition was to select potential exponents to represent the island for next year's Malaysia Games (Sukma) to be held in Melaka.
He added that the winners would also be selected to join the Pusat Cemerlang Negeri for intensive training.
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/index.cfm
Taekwondo Olympic Champion Wu Jingyu withdraws
After cruising her way through to the semi-finals of the National Taekwondo Championship in Suzhou, Olympic champ Wu Jingyu had to pull out at the last minute on the final day because of a hand injury. The title in the 53 kilo category instead went to Kong Deping of the Beijing Military Area Command.
All eyes were on the semi-final match of the women's 53-kilo event on Sunday, as Olympic champion Wu Jingyu was set to be in the competition. This would be her first official competition since the Beijing Olympic Games last summer. But to the disappointment of her fans, Wu didn't show up for the match.
Wu Jingyu had been riding high in her game right from the start, scoring 6-0, 11-0 and 7-0 for each of the competitions on her way to the semi-final. Then suddenly came the bad news that the Olympic champion was prevented from attending by injury, giving the match to her opponent. Yu's hand had apparently become swollen from an injury that occurred during training, and was aggravated during the competition.
http://english.cctv.com/
