Taekwondo needs more support, says Egwim

THOUGH the taekwondo team did not go on a training tour and also had sufficient training time at the Abuja camp before the 10th All Africa Games in Mozambique, the team came second behind Egypt in the event, with 10 out of the 16 athletes winning medals in Maputo.For this feat, taekwondo national coach, Osita Egwim, is asking that enough attention should be paid to the sport, which has continued to bring glory to Nigeria. Among the medals the country won at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in China, taekwondo contributed a bronze courtesy of Chika Chukwumerije, who had to fight through the injury he copped in the first round, to ensure that he made it to the podium in the men's 87kg heavyweight category.However, Egwim, who guided the team to the All Africa Games in Maputo, told The Guardian yesterday that it behooves the sports authorities in the country to consider supporting the sport. He said: 'I really want to commend the athletes for their performance in Maputo because some of the athletes were making their debut at the Games.'It was also their first international outing in any competition. So they should be applauded considering the build-up they had to the Games. In Maputo, most of the countries that took part in the event had been training abroad in readiness for the Games. But we never had such opportunity and we still made appreciable impact in Maputo.'Apart from having athletes in their first international competition, most of them had never fought with the electronic machine before and despite all these challenges, they were able to prove their worth in Maputo.'Unlike Egypt, which had been in training camp in Korea, we only trained at home and never had the opportunity of taking part in any international competition before the Games, yet we were able to come second with two gold medals while Egypt came top with four gold medals.
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