The 2022 edition of a Taekwondo Youth Championship organised by the Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria (KCCN) has ended with winners emerging in various categories.
The competition which held inside the basketball hall package B of Moshood Abiola National stadium Abuja witnessed attendance of up to 240 young Taekwondo enthusiasts with about 60 of them being competing U15 athletes drawn from primary and secondary schools.
They were students of Nigeria-Korea Model School, Junior Secondary School Maitama, Local Education Authority Maitama, Local Education Authority Wuse 2 Zone 1, Local Education Authority Wuse 2 Zone 3 and KCCN Taekwondo Club.
At the end, a student of Junior Secondary School, Maitama, Mohammad Hamed, won the competition
He won tgold medal in the Super Heavyweight Male category while Nwachukwu Chizea (KCCN) got Silver and Kennedy Yakubu won Bronze 1. Abdullahi Hassan picked Bronze 2 in the category.
In the flyweight female, Fatima Umar-Faruk from the Nigeria Korea Model school, won Gold; Edidiong Okun (Silver: KCCN); Precious Lutar (Bronze 1: LEA Zone 1); Ugwunwa Nwachi (Bronze 2: LEA Zone 1).
Chinonyelum Chizea from the KCCN won the gold medal in the Bantamweight (female) while Patience Bako (LEA Maitama) won the Silver and Aisha Shagari (JSS Mataima) took the Bronze medal.
In the Fin weight male, Razi Apams (Korea Nigeria Model School) won Gold, Ali Zane Isa (LEA Maitama) bagged Silver, while Bartholome Iliya (JSS Maitama) and Abdallah Jaminu (LEA Zone 3) cart away the Bronze 1 and Bronze 2 respectively.
Other results are Fin Weight female, Rejoice Augustine (Gold: LEA Zone 3), Chisom Chizea (Silver: KCCN), Eunice Celestine (Bronze 1: KNMS) and Paulina Ali (Bronze 2: LEA Zone 1).
In the Middle Weight male category, Junaid Abdulateef (Maitama) won Gold, Jude Christopher (Silver), Adigwe Kodi (Bronze 1) and David John (Bronze 2: Maitama).
Delivering his speech during the closing ceremony, KCCN Director, Kim Chang-Ki, said Taekwondo tend to improve the mentality and responsiveness of individuals.
According to him, “The beautiful thing about the teams here today is that four of the schools here began from a KCCN Taekwondo outreach. And your dedication and grit, is what brought you this far.
“Remember, gold medals are not really made of gold. They are made of sweat, determination, and a rare alloy called courage. This is sportsmanship. The courage to win and the courage to accept temporary loss, because sports is about continuous improvement, as is Taekwondo.
“No matter who emerges with a cup, or a medal, or who doesn’t, there is always room for improvement, always a next time. Just have fun, watch, learn, and be courageous. There are no losers, only skills to be improved upon.”
A gold medallist, Gabriel Somtochukwu Emmanuel, called on government and corporate to support young taekwondo stars to international championships to broaden their skills in the sport.
Also speaking, another Gold medalist, Fatima Umar-Faruk, commended KCCN for training and opportunity to participate in the championship that made her taakwondo sport hero.
