The President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, Grand Master George Ashiru has revealed that the 2016 edition of the annual Korean Ambassador’s Taekwondo championship will be used to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the federation in Nigeria. The event taking place at the Molade Okoya Thomas Hall of the Teslim Balogun stadium and sponsored by […]
To put the athletes in the right frame of mind ahead of the 11th All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville, President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), George Ashiru is organising a one-day training seminar for athletes.
The one-day seminar holds at the Business Club, Ikeja Fitness Centre in Lagos on Saturday June 27 and it will be personally taught by the NTF president.
In a statement issued and signed by Ashiru, current national champions are expected to attend the six-hour programme of physical and competition training as well as motivational talks.
Ashiru, who was pioneer Nigerian Welterweight Champion and was part of the historic first national Taekwondo team to the 4th All Africa Games in Nairobi Kenya in 1987, That team of 7 young men won 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 bronze medal…a feat that that has yet to be surpassed by subsequent national teams to various All Africa Games since then will bring his experience as an athlete to fore during the training exercise.
As the first former international champion to become the national president for Taekwondo, Ashiru hopes to bring that 1987 spirit back to 2015 by building on their superlative commonwealth championship of 2014 which produced an unprecedented 10 medals including 4 gold medals.
It added that the seminar hopes to inspire the current national team to produce a record breaking performance at the Brazzaville games coming up in September.
To fulfil his dream of grooming educated taekwondo champion, three-time Olympian, Chika Chukwumerije will today in Abuja launch Team Chika Chukwumerije Sports Foundation (CCSF).
According to the 2008 Beijing Olympics medallist, the launching will be attended by the Director General, National Sports Commission (NSC) as well as officials of FCT Education Board and it holds at Government Secondary School, Garki.
“TEAM CCSF [Taekwondo] is a youth-oriented team whose objective is to Produce National, Continental and Olympic Champions in its ranks within the first decade and to ensure its Members continue and finish their formal education (secondary and tertiary) to a logical end. It also aims to engage its members with extra-curricular learning activities i.e. language courses, event management courses, networking forums and to enhance their out-of-school learning experience,” Chukwumerije said.
He added: “The launch is a culmination of a long year of recruitment and engagement of young Nigerians, with select G.S.S schools at the heart of this exercise, and executed totally free of charge. It is therefore with pleasure that we expect your company at the launch to celebrate your youthful generation, whose development so far in the sport is as a result of our collective engagement.
The event will also be attended by the board of Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) led by its president, George Ashiru.
“The above objective is in line with the vision of the Foundation which is to “produce educated champions and inspire the future” through the Olympic sport of Taekwondo. TEAM CCSF is one such vehicle CCSF intends to use to achieve this vision,” the All Africa Games champion said.
Chika Chukwumerije returned to the top cadre at global level when the 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medalist made it to the quarterfinal stage of the ongoing World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) World Championships in Chelyabinsk, Russia to finish in the top eight of the men’s +87kg category.
Chukwumerije, who managed to make it to the round of 16 at the last edition of the tournament defeated some top rated athletes including European championship silver medalist and 2013 bronze medalist at the world championship.
From the first round of the men’s +87kg, the grieving 2011 All Africa Games silver medalist defeated Canada’s Jordan Steward 3-0 to progress to the round of 32.
In the round of 32, he battled 2013 World Championship bronze medalist, Slovakia’s Ivan Trajkovic and he prevailed against the European at 7-6.
In the round of 16, he confronted another European Championships silver medalist, Croatia’s Vedran Golec and against the 31-year-old Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) graduate emerged victorious with a 5-3 win.
In the quarterfinal tie, he was set up against his 2012 London Olympics conqueror, Cuba’s Robelis Despaine and the encounter lived up to expectation but the Cuban prevailed at 9-4 to end Chukwumerije medal’s dream.
An excited President, Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), George Ashiru, described Chukwumerije’s performance as a confirmation of his status as one of the best in the world.
“Chika proves that he is still world class. In the international scene, he is one of the few Beijing generation champions still in the world’s top 20. That is testament to his work ethics and professionalism and experience. That should serve as inspiration to upcoming athletes,” the NTF boss said.
“The World Championships carries three times as many points as the All Africa Games. That is how important it is to improve your world rankings. Two years ago, Chika was in the last 16 and it was good enough to be ranked top 20 in the world. With this performance of being in top eight he will regain much momentum which if he so desires and is still passionate about training and competition will keep him in contention if he gets back on the Grand Prix Circuit,” he added.
However, Chukwumerije’s compatriot, Saturday Martala was unlucky as he fell 15-7 to Kazakhstan’s Smaiyl Duisebay in the men’s -87kg in the first round.
On Monday, May 18, another Nigerian, France-based Mohammed Murtala will face Tajikistan’s Farkhod Negmatov in the first round of the men’s -80kg.
Nigerian team will return to the international stage at the World Taekwondo Federation(WTF)-organised World Championships holding this week in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
Three experienced athletes led by Beijing 2008 Olympics bronze medalist, Chika Chukwumerije will hoist Nigeria’s flag at the global tournament, where athletes are expected to garner points for their final qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.
United States-based Saturday Bashir and France-based Murtala Mohammed will be on duty at the tournament kicking off tomorrow at Traktor Arena in Chelyabinsk.
Besides Nigeria, some top African teams like Gabon, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire and Tunisia are also using the tournament as a tune-up to this year’s All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville.
According to the President, Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), George Ashiru who was at yesterday’s WTF Annual General Meeting (AGM) said the team’s build up was hampered by the political and economic situation in the country.
He however ruled out prospect of medals. “Our chances are much slimmer than usual because we didn’t have the luxury and indeed necessity of a formal training camp you would expect from the biggest event of the year. We had expected to camp our athletes for two months prior to the now rescheduled National Sports Festival, use the festival to test these preparations, and then take only the athletes that demonstrated ability for the nature of the event. None of these opportunities were afforded us early in the year. So, training was informal open camp, and some bureaucratic bottlenecks also hampered our final push for sponsorship of the full national team. Therefore, we won’t have similar results as we would ordinarily expect with proper preparation,” he added.
Meanwhile, the WTF Council has decided on the host cities of upcoming taekwondo championships and announced key appointments, including the organization’s new secretary general.
Muju, Korea, beat out Turkey’s Samsun to host the 2017 World Taekwondo Championships, while American Hoss Rafaty was named the new secretary general of the WTF.
The WTF Council also approved Mexico as the host country of the 2016 WTF World Junior Taekwondo Championships, and Lima, Peru as the host city of the 2016 WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships.
![Taekwondo Team to the 2014 Commonwealth Taekwondo Games [L-R: Judith Usifoh, Adaeze Asigbe, Chiamaka Onumonu, Shola Olowookere, Sunday Onofe, Chinazum Nwosu, Jamilu Mohammed, Josephine Esuku, Shola Olushola, Adamu Abubakar Isah, Ebere Blessing Nwakanma and Team Captain & Athlete-Coach, Chika Chukwumerije]. Uche Chukwumerije and Murtala Mohammed are not in the picture](https://finixsports.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/8-tkd-team-to-2014-commonwealth-games-e1416874984585.jpg)
Also WTF has announced the appointment of Hoss Rafaty as the WTF Secretary General during the WTF Council meeting in Chelyabinsk, Russia, ahead of the 2015 WTF World Taekwondo Championships.
Hoss Rafaty has served as a special assistant to the WTF President since 2007 as well as President of the WTF International Foundation since 2008 and Chairman of the WTF Expansion Committee since 2009. As co-founder and President of Yumi Ice Cream Co., Hoss Rafaty will also bring extensive commercial business experience to his new role. He was awarded a taekwondo 3rd Dan by the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) before moving to the WTF.
300 athletes drawn from Niger Republic, Mali, Ghana and host of this year’s All Africa Games, Congo Brazzaville including Nigeria are at present jostling for honours at the Lagos International Taekwondo Classics holding at Teslim Balogun Stadium.
The taekwondists made of 212 male and 88 female will be aiming for the laurels at the N3.5m prize money three-day tournament organized by the Lagos State Taekwondo Association under the auspices of the Lagos Sports Classics and sanctioned by the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF).
For the President, NTF, George Ashiru, the classics has indeed helped the country especially in the poomsae event.
“Through the classics, we have made some headway in the poomsae event and we have won three gold medals at international tournament. This became possible through the efforts made by our national coach, Jim Beom Kim and this has fetched us three international gold medals. And this year has also ignited the interest of the athletes in Poomsae and this is a major plus to the classics. Despite the initial postponement, we still have the presence of teams from Mali, Niger Republic, Ghana and Congo Brazzaville. These teams are our possible contenders for medals at the 2015 All Africa Games and it is good that we can use this competition to assess them as well as tune up our athletes for the world championships holding in Russia,” Ashiru said.
The Commonwealth Taekwondo Union (CTU) Vice President explained that outstanding athletes from the classics would form the second tier of the national team.
Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) has described the death of its patron, Senator Uche Chukwumerije has a big loss to the sport in Nigeria.
In a statement signed by its president George Ashiru, the NTF highlighted the immense contribution of the lawmaker, towards popularising the sport.
“The Nigeria Taekwondo Federation regretfully announces the passing away of Senator Uche Chukwumerije, a founding father and patron of the Federation. Senator Chukwumerije was a 5th Degree black belt issued in Korea, and spawned a family of 8 black belts many of whom were national and international champions. These include the late Kwame Chukwumerije, who at 15, in 1987 was considered good enough to be invited to the national team for then world championships. His others sons Uche and Chika have both been African Games champions and Chika has gone on to do the country even more proud picking a Bronze at the 2008 Olympic Games.
He added: “Late Senator Chukwumerije, was a former President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Black Belt College, and was part of the team of leaders who agitated for the official recognition of Taekwondo by the National Sports Commission in 1987. He singlehandedly sponsored the 2007 Nigerian Team to the 2007 Olympic Qualification Tournament, amongst many others. He also singlehandedly hosted and rewarded the 2011 African Games team at a gala event in Abuja.
“He is famous for his political leadership as part of the National Assembly’s “Integrity Group”, while serving as a 4 term Senator. He was also a former Minister of Information in the 1990s. On behalf of the entire Taekwondo community, I extend our heartfelt condolences to the Chukwumerije family, and may the soul of late Senator Uche Chukwumerije rest in peace,” Ashiru said.
Commonwealth Gold Medallist, Josephine Esuku, thrilled a mammoth crowd en route to grabbing three medals – two Gold and one Bronze medal at the just concluded World Taekwondo Federation sanctioned Qatar International Taekwondo Opens, held in Doha, Qatar, from 6 – 10 March 2015.
Esuku started the G-1 ranked tournament by picking up the Bronze in the -46kg Kyreougi, when she beat Host, Shakha Alharty of Qatar [8-2] in the Quarter-finals before losing to Number 2 ranked seed and eventual winner, Hajer Mustapha of France in the Semi-finals.
The well rounded taekwondo competitor went on to blaze through the opposition in her area of strength, picking up two Golds in the individual Poomsae and freestyle Poomsae categories on the 5th and final day of competition.
Her strong performance at the tournament was rewarded as Esuku was awarded the “Best Female Poomsae Player” Award, the first time in almost 20 years that a Nigerian is winning tournament-best award.
It can be recalled that the versatile female competitor also won a Gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the Freestyle category, and a Silver medal in the Group Poomsae category.
Speaking on her victory from the Aspire Zone Competition Arena in Doha, the visibly excited University of Benin Graduate could not hide her tears of joy.
“I am so happy that I came here and won these medals, given the huge challenges I had en route to this trip”
She thanked the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation for their support
“The NTF and President Ashiru were very supportive of my trip, and I am happy with the outcome because it took a lot of sacrifices just to make this trip”
NTF Boss, George Ashiru, congratulated Esuku for making the country very proud yet again.
“This young lady has yet again provided inspiration to the Nigeria Taekwondo community, and has done very well. Against all odds, she has proved her quality and shown why she is a Commonwealth Gold medallist”
The NTF President vowed to continue creating opportunities for all members of the Nigeria Taekwondo Community.
“Our Federation will continue to support all genuine Nigeria Taekwondo practitioners that wish to expose themselves to the international circuit, especially members of the outstanding 2014 Commonwealth Taekwondo Team who had consistently replicated their top performance at subsequent National and International tournaments”
Speaking on the importance of further exposure of members of the successful Commonwealth team to more international competitions, the NTF Boss encouraged more sponsors to take advantage of the consistent success stories of Nigeria Taekwondo competitors to sponsor more current and upcoming Taekwondo athletes.
“There are many opens, and the only reason we do not win more medals is that we are not going for these events as often as we should. Esuku almost missed out on this trip, so imagine that we would not have this wonderful inspiring story to tell if she had not gone to Qatar”
For the Kyreougi category, there were 398 competitors registered from 44 countries, including France, Greece, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Turkey, Belgium, Qatar, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Croatia, Norway, Thailand, Morocco, Germany, Australia, Spain, South Korea, Algeria, Sweden, Netherlands, Yemen, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Libya, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Isle of Man, Russia, New Zealand, Azerbaijan, Central Africa Republic, Niger Republic and Nigeria.
For the Poomsae category, there 119 competitors registered from 11 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Tunisia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Guinea, Egypt and Nigeria.
It is worthy to note that Esuku sponsored herself for the trip
For their immense support in the last few years, the Minster of Sports/Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), Tammy Danagogo has commended the government and people of Korea Republic over the development of taekwondo in Nigeria.
In a letter signed by the minister and addressed to the Ambassador, Republic of Korea, it stated that the performance of Team Nigeria in major competitions has been outstanding, adding that this became possible with the continued support of the Korean Government.
“We hereby write to convey the profound gratitude of NSC and indeed taekwondo lovers in Nigeria for your unequaled support to the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) under the leadership of Mr. George Ashiru. Your support, no doubt contributed immensely to the sterling performance of Team Nigeria at the last Commonwealth Championship in Edinburg, Scotland, where they posted their best performance ever in any international competition; and has in no small measure promoted youths and sports development in the country,” he said.
The NSC helmsman added: “We therefore, most heartily commend your kind gesture in assisting our team and hope that this will go a long way to further strengthen cordial relationship between your good selves and the Commission.”
In the last few years, the Korea Government has been sponsoring the annual Korea’s Ambassador Cup involving teams within and outside Nigeria.
…As Qatar revokes issued visas of taekwondo impersonators
The Qatar Taekwondo Federation earlier today revoked issued visas of a total of 16 persons who fraudulently obtained the Visas by posing as members of the Nigeria Taekwondo National Team, seemingly scheduled to attend the prestigious 1st Qatar International Taekwondo Opens, a G-1 ranked World Taekwondo Federation sanctioned event, billed to hold at Qatar from 6 – 9 March, 2015.
Coincidentally, some members of the actual Nigeria National Taekwondo Team that won medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games are also billed to compete for Nigeria at the event.
The unscrupulous scheme was revealed as part of an aggressive drive by the International Department of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation [NTF] to tackle visa racketeering through Sports head-on, where the first step of the progressive NTF is a constant check on the websites of international ranked tournaments to see if there are any suspicious names registered as members of the Nigeria Taekwondo Community.
A routine check earlier this week which revealed the registration of 16 persons, not in any way associated with the sport of Taekwondo in Nigeria, set off the alarm bells. Unknown to the perpetrators, the Qatar Taekwondo Federation has an existing relationship with the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, who immediately contact their Middles Eastern counterparts to check-mate the fraudsters.
The [names, passport number, sex, and place of birth] of 16-persons as noted on their submitted international passports include:
Oyeniyi Ilesanmi [A03328102, Male, Ado-Ekiti]; Idris Adeoye Adelakun [A05860794, Male, Lagos]; Oluyinka Rebecca Adalawo [A03795343, Female, Lagos]; Emeka Henry Oboyo [A06137015, Male, Ndioke], Kelechi Kanu [A04387855, Male, Arochukwu], Akeem Ayodeji Adekola [A03451884, Male, Lagos]; Ghandi Maduka [A04229245, Male, Lagos]; Michael Chukwuma Obianukor [A03577759, Male, Inyi]; Kamarudeen Owolabi Gbagba [A06183327, Male, Ilorin]; Gbenga Ojo Adeyemi [A03517786, Male, Iwaro-Oka; Elvis Mike Erinmwionghae [A02640515, Male, Benin City]; Mariam Damilola Abeeb [A05252613, Female, Lagos]; Rilwan Oluwasegun Wahab [A04824863, Male, Lagos]; Yinka Usman Orimidara [A05245189, Male, Ibadan].
The details of two more names [Irabor Christopher] and [Gabiel Olushola Isokpehi [A05722999, Male] are being expected by the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation within the next 48 hours.
To disguise the fraud in their application to the Qatar authorities, the impersonators signed off their emails in the name of the current President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, George Ashiru, and gave the correct address of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation office located at the National Stadium, Lagos.
However, the false crafted-worded emails used by the perpetrators in their application [george_ashiru_presiden@outloook.com] and [taekwondofednig@yahoo.com], in addition to the false phone number of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation [08092667469] and false fax number of the Nigeria Olympic Committee [234 1 2801302] gave the game away.
In a confirmation email to fraudsters in which the NTF was copied, the Qatar Taekwondo Federation noted:
“Please note that the attached visas are no longer valid, It has been cancelled due to special instructions issued by non-validity of these visas. Accordingly, we would like to inform you not to use these visas and if used by anyone would not be allowed to enter the State of Qatar”
The President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation had a strong message to this group, and similar group trying to use Sports as an avenue to get Visa.
“The Nigeria Taekwondo Federation is a very active, progressive and well-connected organization that uses the Sport of Taekwondo to positively impact the lives of Nigerians and build career paths for hardworking Nigerian sportsmen and women. Your illegal activities harm the chances and careers of thousands of our upcoming and current Taekwondo practitioners in Nigeria. Stay away from Taekwondo and all Sports Federations”
The development points a bold way for many Sports Federation to tackle this far-reaching problem, in order to safe guard the chances of genuine Sportsmen and women.
Ready to consolidate of the successes recorded in 2014, Beijing Olympics bronze medalist, Chika Chukwumerije has charged taekwondists across the country to make 2015 memorable for taekwondo.
The Commonwealth Championship silver medalist, believes with unity in the taekwondo fraternity, more successes would be recorded in 2015.
“I want to extend appreciation to the athletes, who are my colleagues and friends. You are the reason the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) exists, and I thank you for all your hard work and dedication. It has been a tough 2014, and I hope we continue to work very hard to make 2015 even more memorable,” he said.
The four-time Olympian added: “2015 is an important year, as President Ashiru has repeatedly mentioned; chief among the tournaments are the All African Games and the WTF World Championships, plus other important issues like gaining lots of global ranking points to increase our chances of automatically qualifying for the 2016 Olympics, and gaining international exposure and experience. I know the official program of the NTF will be release soon through the appropriate channels, and I am excited that 2015 presents another opportunity for us to work together towards making even more history.”
He however, tasked the athletes not to relent in their efforts. “On this note, I would like to challenge each and every one of us to continue to develop ourselves, and aspire to take the Sport to a better place than we met it. On a personal note, I wish you all the best in your individual endeavours and hope your personal ambitions, hope and dreams comes to a positive conclusion in 2015,” he explained.
He lauded the tenacity of NTF president, George Ashiru, describing him as a goal-getter.
His words: “Firstly, I want to extend our thanks to our President, GM George Ashiru, for his steady and focused steering of Taekwondo Development and Administration in Nigeria. It is a difficult job, and one that requires a lot of wisdom, knowledge and experience; being an ex-international athlete, ex-national champion, established business man, accomplished sports administrator, these are three ingredients Master Gee possesses in abundance.”
He singled out the support of board members of NTF, which he said is commendable in the last one year.
“I would love to say a big thank you to the media, for believing in the vision and activities of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, under the capable leadership of GM George Ashiru, and giving Taekwondo the kind of exposure that matches the amount of hard work that has been put in by all its stakeholders to develop, not only an Olympic sport that wins medals for Nigeria, but develops the character of young Nigerians. Your support has been instrumental and critical to our vision, and we hope to continue to count on your support of NTF programmes and our upcoming super stars,” he said.
To ensure that its 2014 feats are consolidated, the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) yesterday unveiled its major plans for 2015 while calling for more support to the sport from private and public sectors.
According to the President of NTF, George Ashiru, 2014 has been worthwhile for the sport following the successes recorded locally and internationally.
“I want to say that 2014 has been a rewarding year for taekwondo because we wanted to achieve some of our objectives in the year and we are happy that we were able to do this. We tagged a developmental year and truly it was a year that we were able to discover athletes that will take over from the likes of Chika Chukwumerije.
We organized six tournaments this year and we took part in five international competitions, which for us was encouraging. At the maiden National Youth Games, we wanted to unearth new athletes and we were able to identify some of them and today some of these athletes are doing well even at international levels. Two of the discovered athletes featured at the World Junior Championships and despite not winning medals, they gave a good account of themselves. From this tournament, they were able to garner some experience which has been helpful to them in subsequent tournaments.
They were able to win gold medals at the Commonwealth Championships in Edinburg, Scotland and they ended the year with gold medals at the Lagos Opens. For us, we have been able to monitor these athletes and they are doing well in their various categories,” Ashiru said.
The Vice President, Commonwealth Taekwondo Union (CTU) added that with more support taekwondo has the potential to win more medals for Nigeria at international competitions.
“With 15 athletes that went to the Commonwealth Championships, we won 10 medals to finish fourth overall compared to countries that came with over 80 athletes. This goes to show that we have quality. But we will not be carried away by this feat because top nations like Korea, United States, and others were not at the tournaments but it was a good platform for us to assess our athletes,” he said.
The NTF boss however, said that efforts would be geared towards getting more exposure for the athletes.
He said the 2015 World Championships and All Africa Games as the two major tournaments that are crucial to the country’s qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. “I cannot specifically confirm that we have the athletes that can compete well at the Olympic Games in Brazil because like other nations that considers tall athletes from other sports to represent them at the Olympics. We will also consider this workable system to identify tall athletes from other sport and we are intending to train them to become world beaters,” he disclosed.
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