Heavyweight and Welter Weight National Taekwondo Champions, 21-year-old Benjamin Okuomose and 19-year-old Elizabeth Anyanacho, have touched down in South Korea to participate in the 1st Taekwondowon International Training Camp, which is slated to hold between 12 and 28 March 2019 in Muju.

The objective of the event, which is being organized by the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation, is to promote and improve the taekwondo techniques and skills of athletes going for the 2019 World Taekwondo Championships in May.

Benefits of the Training camp listed by organizers include professional master’s one-point lessons, joint training with Korea Elite Training teams, donation of taekwondo training materials, souvenirs and camp certificate.  

The taekwondo duo will be welcomed in the Taekwondo camp by three-time Olympian, Chika Chukwumerije, who was already in South Korea to complete a World Taekwondo Educator Certification Program.

Speaking on the event, the President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, Mrs Margaret Elizabeth Binga, thanked the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nigeria and the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation for the initiative.

“There has been a warm relationship between the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nigeria going back to the 1980s and this program is, once again, another example of the benefits of our bi-lateral relationships. So we are grateful to His Excellency, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Nigeria and the Secretary-General of the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation, Mr Kook Hyun Jung, for this wonderful opportunity to expose our young and talented athletes in an international quality camp of this nature. It is a great development for Nigeria Taekwondo.”

Nigeria Taekwondo’s first female president also used the opportunity to encourage investors to support the national teams and other national programs.

“The Nigeria Taekwondo Federation is one of the most vibrant sporting federations in Nigeria. Imagine the opportunities available to investors to jump in to invest in our porgams. It will be a win-win situation, because they will get a lot of visibility, can boast about their contributions to sports development, youth empowerment and on our part, we would triple our current rate of development, which is currently very consistent”

The President encouraged the athletes to give a good account of the themselves both on and off the court.

“You are not in Nigeria now and thus have become our Ambassadors. Everyone will see Nigeria through you. Thus you must extol the hardworking and diligent virtues of Nigeria and also try and learn as much as possible during the Taekwondo Camp”

The trip was sanctioned by the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation and facilitated by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nigeria, while the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation supported all the participants by paying 20% of the minimum airfare, as well as providing free accommodation and feeding.

A total of 40 slots were available to athletes from 129 countries. Thus, the two Nigerian athletes who recently bagged gold medals at the Nigeria International Taekwondo Open, meet with 38 other international athletes from around the globe.