Sports

Korea Embassy donates equipment to GTF

 The Korean gov­ernment through its embassy in Accra has pre­sented taekwondo equipment to the Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF) to support the preparation and organisation of the 13th African Games in Ghana.

The equipment, three sets of KPNP Electronic Protector and Scoring System worth $33,000, was part of the country’s efforts to develop taekwondo in Ghana and around the world.

Making the presentation yester­day, the Korean Ambassador, Mr Park Kyongsig, said the purpose of the donation was to support the development of taekwondo in Ghana and around the world.

According to him, taekwon­do has great potential not only in Ghana but also in other neighboring African countries, “therefore, the government of the Republic of Korea regularly donates taekwondo equipment around the world as part of the country’s efforts to promote its culture.”

Ambassador Kyongsig further explained that taekwondo has become a global sport that has gained an international reputation and was not surprise at its selec­tion as an official Olympic sport.

“With the help of the embassy, the Korean government has been supporting the Ghana Taekwon­do Federation over the years to nurture over 90 taekwondo clubs in the country. The GTF has also for the past 13 years been organ­ising the taekwondo champion­ships in the country to unearth the potential of young taekwon­do athletes across the country.”

Ambassador Kyongsig de­scribed the bilateral relations between Ghana and Korea as sat­isfactory and expressed his read­iness to further deepen the ties and continue to support Ghana in its development agenda.

He urged Team Ghana to work harder to win a lot of medals, especially in taekwondo.

Receiving the equipment, Mr Frederick Lartey Otu, President of the GTF, expressed gratitude to the Korean Embassy for the kind gesture which he said did not come as a surprise because of the embassy’s regular assis­tance to the GTF.

According to him, the presen­tation would go a long way to help stage a world class taekwon­do event at the championship.

Additional to what the embassy presented, the GTF, Mr Otu disclosed, has received similar supports from institutions including the World Taekwondo which presented three sets of KPNP competition mats and the African Taekwondo Union (AFTU) with Mr Ide Issaka as president.

AFTU supported the organ­isation of the African Games with an Instant Video Replay on Venue Results and Poomase Scoring Systems.

“We are grateful to Mr Ide Issaka, president of the Afri­can Taekwondo Union, for his efforts in ensuring the inclusion of Poomase and Mixed Gender Team Kyorugi competitions for the first time in the history of the African Games.”

Other personalities who were present at the presentation were Mr Balla Dieye, Secretary General of AFTU, and Mr Ernest Danso, Gha­na’s Chef d’Mission for the Games, and officials of the embassy.

 BY ANDREW NORTEY

Show More
Back to top button