2015 WBSC Premier12 delivers US$ 131 million in brand exposure, sponsorship value

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today announced that the inaugural 2015 WBSC Premier12 staged in Japan and Taiwan generated a cumulative potential broadcast reach of 253.7 million households and produced an estimated US$ 131 million in worldwide TV advertising value and brand exposure for tournament sponsors, WBSC and the sport of baseball.

The global broadcast and sponsorship performance of the 2015 WBSC Premier12 was measured by the independent sports marketing and research firm, SMG Insight.

In terms of overall media coverage, ratings and broadcast hours, the inaugural WBSC Premier12 was the premier international sports event on the 2015 calendar in host nations Japan and Taiwan.

The 2015 global championship, which brought together baseball’s top 12 men’s National Teams in the world last November, and won by No. 8 South Korea, registered 235,951 fans in attendance over 38 games.

A total of nearly US$ 4 million was awarded in prize money.

WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari welcomed the report on the broadcast and media coverage, brand exposure and digital consumption of the Premier12.

“The Premier12 was an overwhelming success that generated valuable exposure for our partners, our sport and the players themselves,” Fraccari said. “The reach, coverage and commercial power of the inaugural WBSC Premier12 further highlight the continued international appeal of baseball and how it could serve as an Olympic sport.”

Broadcast and Sponsorship Value

Broadcasters around the world aired 2,258 hours (1,464 hours or 65% live) of the 2015 WBSC Premier12 across 58 markets for an estimated US$ 131 million in brand exposure and advertising value for WBSC’s global championship partners and WBSC.

SMG Insight analysed the brand impact and exposure of the 2015 WBSC Premier12 official partners, which included Asahi Beer, Dandy House, GungHo, Hublot, Meiji, Nippon Express, Nissan, Play for Change, Recruit Holdings, Taipei 2017 and Yomiuri Shimbun.

Sponsorship and broadcast rights distribution for the 2015 Premier12 was overseen by WBSC global marketing partner, MP & Silva.

Ratings Highlights:

The first-ever WBSC Premier12 was the most watched international sports program of 2015 in host nations Japan (TV Asahi and TBS) and Taiwan (Videoland):
Japan vs. South Korea semifinal on 19 Nov. at the Tokyo Dome was the No. 1 international sports TV programme in Japan in 2015, with a rating share of 25.2%
Chinese Taipei vs. Puerto Rico Opening Round game on 15 Nov. was the most watched sports programme in Taiwan in 2015 (5.27% rating)
Male/Female Demographics

The new flagship event highlighted the sport’s connection and appeal to both male and females, as females represented 40% of the WBSC Premier12 global TV audience.

Press Coverage

Online media penetration of the inaugural Premier12 exceeded 30k news articles, according to media intelligence experts Meltwater.

Yahoo, one of the biggest web portals in the world, featured a dedicated 2015 WBSC Premier12 “live” tournament page in the sports sections of Yahoo Taiwan and Yahoo Japan, while South Korea’s most popular portal Naver also built a dedicated Premier12 page.

Global newswire giant Associated Press (AP) produced a preview and provided daily reports on the WBSC flagship baseball event, while Agence France-Presse (AFP) furnished news reports on the semifinals and finals.

The two biggest sports leagues in the world (in terms of annual attendance), Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball, featured 2015 WBSC Premier12 coverage on their websites, while the top sports leagues in South Korea (Korea Baseball Organization) and Taiwan (Chinese Professional Baseball League) also provided extensive coverage, connecting with large fan-bases.

Yomiuri Shimbun, an official sponsor of the WBSC Premier12, which has the widest circulation of any newspaper in the world, also promoted the new flagship event to their massive readership through advertising, in addition to providing comprehensive Premier12 tournament news coverage.

In host nation Japan, a staggering 4,004 articles on the 2015 Premier12 were printed in newspapers, which included several front/full page editorials.

Online Viewership and Engagement

Fans from 217 countries watched 264,822 hours of the 2015 WBSC Premier12 via the WBSC YouTube channel (youtube.com/wbsc), generating 1.27 million views and 112k comments.

Audiences in the U.S. logged in the most viewing hours, registering 22% of the total viewing time of the Premier12 on WBSC’s YouTube channel.

Chinese Taipei and Puerto Rico’s extra-inning, sellout thriller on 15 Nov. at Taichung Intercontinental Stadium generated the most live-stream comments at 25k.

In total, Premier12 live-streaming, highlights and instant replays surpassed more than 10 million video views across WBSC’s official Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts.

Social Media Buzz

The 2015 WBSC Premier12 produced a major buzz on Twitter, the official Premier12 social media partner, with the integration of a powerful suite of Twitter tools that included Twitter Amplify, Twitter Mirror, Twitter Polls, Periscope and SnappyTV.

2015 WBSC #Premier12 delivered US$ 131 million in brand exposure, sponsorship value: https://t.co/GIUqkxkz8s pic.twitter.com/t5a4gYHUIS

— WBSC ⚾🥎 (@WBSC) February 10, 2016

Twitter Highlights:
@wbsc attracted:
51.4 million impressions
157k retweets, for an average of 253 RTs per tweet
4.6 million video views
1.2 million Vine loops
1.3 million profile visits
Autographed Twitter Mirror (selfie) of Japan/Nippon-Ham Fighters star Sho Nakata (see here) was the most popular tweet, with 3,645 RTs/6,018 (at time of writing)
Official hashtag #Premier12 among top trends in host nation Japan and winner South Korea
Twitter’s partnership and integration was key not only as a first-source of information, but also as an effective method in helping deliver an exciting major sporting event atmosphere through such features as exclusive close-ups, player/team selfies, behind-the-scenes content and instant replays via Twitter Amplify.

Tokyo dome, photo credit
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dozodomo/

Facebook Highlights:

Facebook.com/wbsc generated:
36.4 million impressions
4.7 million video views
408k likes, comments and shares
Video of Chinese Taipei/CPBL Chinatrust Brothers Chih-Sheng Lin’s dramatic home run against Cuba was the most liked WBSC post, with 9,589 likes (see here)
Official WBSC Website:
Fans from 201 countries and territories visited http://www.wbsc.org a record 1.67 million times during the Premier12, the highest-ever daily traffic since the world governing body first launched its website in the 1990s.
Premier12 Coverage, Brand Exposure and Digital Consumption — Highlights Summary:
253.7 million potential household reach
2,258 dedicated broadcast hours in 58 markets
US$ 131 million in sponsorship value and brand exposure
Males 60%, Females 40% of TV audience
No. 1 international sports TV content in 2015 in host nations Japan and Taiwan
Nearly US$ 4 million in prize money
235,951 in ticketing/attendance
30k online news articles produced
87 million impressions generated via WBSC on Twitter and Facebook
10 million video views of live-stream and highlights across WBSC online platforms
264,822 hours viewed via the WBSC YouTube channel
Record 1.67 million visits to wbsc.org
408k likes, comments and shares at facebook.com/wbsc

WBSC PREMIER12™ BROADCAST RIGHTS AWARDED AROUND THE WORLD

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today announced that broadcast rights have been awarded in territories across the world for the first-ever WBSC Premier12™ global baseball championship, which will be staged from 8-21 November in Japan and Taiwan and will feature the National Teams of the Top 12 countries in the world.

In Europe, cable giant Fox Sports has been awarded the rights to broadcast the new international baseball flagship tournament in Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Malta, Netherlands and Turkey.

NOS, the Dutch free-to-air public broadcaster, has also been awarded Premier12 broadcast rights in the Netherlands, the No. 5 country in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings, while Eleven Sports Network has obtained broadcast rights across Belgium and Poland, as well as Singapore and Malaysia in Asia.

WBSC Premier12 broadcast distribution across Asia also includes beIN Sports (Indonesia and the Philippines), LeTV and PPTV (China), Macau Cable, Sky Net (Myanmar), Solar (Philippines), i-Cable (Hong Kong) and Vietnam Digital Television (VTC).

Japanese satellite TV network J-Sports has also acquired broadcast rights for the WBSC Premier12, adding to the already announced agreements with TV Asahi and the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) in Japan.

Camerabay.tv has obtained online broadcast rights in Taiwan, which complements host broadcaster Videoland’s television rights in the nation. Videoland will be producing 33 (of the 38) games of the 2015 WBSC Premier12 within the span of a week, marking the most intense operation in history for the premier sports network in Taiwan.

It was already announced that SBS in South Korea has been awarded the exclusive broadcast rights in that nation for Premier12.

Across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Dubai-based OSN added the WBSC Premier12 to its broadcast portfolio.

In Oceania, global sports network beIN Sports has been awarded Premier12 broadcast rights in Australia.

In the Americas, Rogers’ Sportsnet (Canada) and the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT) have been awarded exclusive rights in their respective territories.

“WBSC is proud to partner with some of the world’s premier broadcasters to showcase this new crown jewel event and deliver all the excitement of Premier12 to potentially hundreds of millions of households and mobile users,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “These partnerships not only highlight the global appeal of this new WBSC flagship baseball product, but also demonstrate baseball’s expanding worldwide position in an extremely competitive environment.”

WBSC Premier12 Live-Streaming on Youtube

All 38 games of the 2015 WBSC Premier12 will be live-streamed and free-to-view on the WBSC YouTube channel for those territories not covered by WBSC’s broadcast partners. Following each game, highlights and video-on-demand will be available to worldwide audiences via WBSC’s YouTube channel.

SOUTH KOREAN SPORTS LEGEND CHAN-HO PARK BECOMES WBSC PREMIER12™ GLOBAL AMBASSADOR

The World Baseball Softball Confederation and the Korea Baseball Organization today announced that South Korean baseball legend Chan-ho Park will serve as an official Global Ambassador of the 2015 WBSC Premier12™, which is being launched this November (8-21) in Japan and Taiwan.

The WBSC Premier12 is the top international baseball tournament on the 2015 calendar, distributing the top purse and largest sum of world ranking points.

Park was the first Major League Baseball (MLB) player in history from South Korea, making his debut as a pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1994. Prior to retiring in 2012, the international baseball pioneer had also competed in the top leagues in Japan and South Korea, Nippon Professional Baseball and KBO, respectively.

As a member of the South Korean National Baseball Team, Park helped his country capture the gold medal at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, while also earning two silver medals in 1993 at the BFA Asian Baseball Championship and FISU Summer Universiade.

“It’s an honour to have Chan-ho Park, one of South Korea’s most storied baseball players, as a WBSC Premier12 Global Ambassador,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “He personifies ‘global baseball’ and the new WBSC Premier12 flagship platform: he has played at the top level, and has represented his country and our sport proudly on the international stage.”

Peter O’Malley, who was the president of the Dodgers when Park signed with the club, said: “Chan-ho Park is recognised as a true international baseball goodwill ambassador.”

Said Park: “I am very honoured and take very seriously this appointment as a Global Ambassador of the inaugural 2015 WBSC Premier12. The sport of baseball has shaped my life, and I embrace this responsibility to represent the sport of baseball at the world level for WBSC and Premier12. Playing for my National Team will always be one of my fondest memories of my career, and I will do everything I can to help promote the ideal, the duty and the sense of pride that comes with putting your country first.”

The success of the South Korean National Baseball Team, particularly following the gold medal win at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, has helped fuel baseball’s position as the most popular spectator sport in South Korea, with KBO setting record attendance numbers across all sports in the nation, surpassing 7.15 million in annual attendance in 2013 – more than five times the annual attendance of the next sport.

KBO stars will be united on their National Team to defend South Korea in the WBSC Premier12 global baseball battle.

Additional 2015 WBSC Premier12 Global Ambassadors — in collaboration with the participating Premier12 teams — will be announced in the lead up to the event, which gets underway with world No. 1 Japan and world No. 8 South Korea in a special opener at the 40,000-seat Sapporo Dome in Japan on Sunday, 8 November.

NO. 1 TV RATINGS IN JAPAN FOR FINALE OF WBSC U-18 BASEBALL WORLD CUP IN OSAKA

The Sunday night, 6 September, prime time finale of the XXVII WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup at historic Koshien Stadium in Osaka generated a nationwide sensation across Japan, outperforming the nation’s most popular television programmes during some of the most valuable prime-time hours, according to multiple media reports.

A snapshot into Japan’s biggest region, Kanto, which has a potential reach of 18.1 million households, showed the electric and close-fought youth baseball world championship finale between the U-18 National Teams of host nation Japan (world No. 1) and the United States (world No. 2) generated an average TV rating of 18.6 and spiked to an incredible 27.2 during the final moments of the game, which ran just under three hours from 18:30 to 21:24 JST.

The thrilling U-18 world championship finale, attended by over 15,000 in-stadium spectators, was featured live and free-to-air across Japan on TV Asahi, one of the most wide-reaching broadcasting networks in Japan. Deciding to feature the finale live and in prime time against other popular programmes in Japan, TV Asahi executives were praised by the broadcast industry for their shrewd decision to offer blanket coverage through their terrestrial channels nationwide.

Online viewers from 93 countries and territories worldwide tuned in to the finale of the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup via live-stream.

According to Twitter Japan, the 2015 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup finale was the second highest trending topic on Twitter in Japan on the night of 6 September, with celebrities, pop singers, authors, fans and Nippon Professional Baseball clubs sharing in the real-time thrilling moments.

A record 4.2 million impressions were generated through WBSC’s official Twitter account (@wbsc), the highest ever one-day reach for WBSC.

The highlight video of the United States’ 2-1 world championship victory over Japan at Koshien Stadium has become the most viewed video across WBSC’s official platforms, having been viewed over 1.2 million times to date.

“The credit for the excitement and impressive viewership ratings belong to the athletes and to the National Federations who’s difficult task it is to identify and select the next generation of young, elite athletes to represent their countries at the highest level,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari, “and also to our broadcast partners who are vital in promoting the exposure of our sport globally. The outstanding showing in Osaka highlights the power of our youth base, the bright future our sport has and the future generation of superstars who will help lead our sport to new heights.”

The strong ratings of the U-18 youth baseball flagship finale come at a time when the organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are evaluating a shortlist of sports, baseball and softball included, to potentially add to the Olympic Programme, to enhance engagement levels and add youth appeal, among other criteria.

The XXVI WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2013 in Taichung, Taiwan had a potential broadcast reach of 144 million homes and potential online/mobile reach of 20 million users. A full report on the overall broadcast reach of the 2015 edition will be complied and released in the coming weeks, and it is anticipated that the 2013 numbers will be surpassed.

ONLINE GAMING GIANT ‘GUNGHO’ NAMED GOLD SPONSOR OF UPCOMING WBSC PREMIER12…

ONLINE GAMING GIANT ‘GUNGHO’ NAMED GOLD SPONSOR OF UPCOMING WBSC PREMIER12 GLOBAL BASEBALL EVENT

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (“WBSC”) today announced that Tokyo-based gaming giant GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc. (“GungHo”) has become a gold sponsor, the top category, of the 2015 WBSC Premier12 that will be staged in Japan and Taiwan from 8-21 November and will feature the men’s National Teams from the top twelve nations in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings.

As a top sponsor, GungHo, makers of such popular games as “Puzzle & Dragons”, will have a featured presence and be on signage across all competition venues and all media backdrops for Premier12, the top international baseball event on the 2015 calendar.

“WBSC is delighted to partner with leaders in online entertainment like GungHo,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “This is a natural fit for WBSC and our newest flagship event Premier12, as the sport of baseball entertains hundreds of millions of fans every year with action on the field. This partnership with GungHo on Premier12 promises to create a very special synergy dedicated to the fan and game-experience.”

Said Kazuki Morishita, GungHo President and CEO: “GungHo is committed to launching engaging new products and content, and that’s why we are thrilled to be partnering with WBSC on Premier12. This exciting new global baseball platform, WBSC Premier12, will be viewed and enjoyed by millions of fans of all ages around the world, and GungHo is confident that through this partnership on WBSC Premier12 we will continue to expand the range of new and loyal users who trust in GungHo to continue delivering innovative, new gaming products and experiences.”

The WBSC Premier12 global baseball battle will open with top-ranked Japan and world No. 8 South Korea on 8 November at Japan’s 40,000-seat Sapporo Dome.

VIDEOLAND BROADCAST AGREEMENT AND PRODUCTION FOR WBSC PREMIER12 BIGGEST IN TAIWAN’S HISTORY

Agreement includes U-12, U-15, U-18, U-21 Baseball World Cup broadcast rights in Taiwan

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today announced that Taiwan’s premier sports network Videoland has been awarded broadcast rights in Taiwan for the new WBSC Premier12™ world baseball flagship event that is set to debut in Japan and Taiwan from 8-21 November.

The agreement sees cable network Videoland become the host broadcaster and producer for all thirty-three Premier12 Opening Round and Quarter-finals matches taking place in Taiwan across four venues: Taichung Intercontinental Stadium, Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium, Tien-Mou Stadium and Dou-Liou Stadium.

Videoland will be overseeing the largest-ever broadcast production — up to six Premier12 championship games per day with simulcast coverage — of any major sporting event staged in Taiwan in history.

The November WBSC Premier12 is the top international baseball event of the year — offering a $US multi-million purse and biggest payout of world ranking points — and will unite the men’s professional National Teams from the Top 12 countries in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings for the first time ever.

“WBSC is thrilled to partner with Videoland on this landmark agreement and exciting undertaking,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. “With Taiwan’s top sports network serving as the host broadcaster, viewers worldwide will be guaranteed the most comprehensive, innovative and highest quality coverage that showcases the world’s top twelve nations battling on the WBSC Premier12 global baseball stage.”

Said Videoland President Jay Cheng: “Videoland is honoured to have been entrusted with WBSC’s new crown jewel product. The production of the WBSC Premier12 will represent the largest-scale operation in Videoland’s history, and this agreement also ensures that Videoland’s programming will exclusively feature the live, premium content that is in high demand by audiences across Taiwan. With Premier12, Videoland expects record ratings across our cable platform.”

As previously announced, Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) and TV Asahi will be the host broadcasters in Japan for a special rivalry opener between world No. 1 Japan and No. 8 South Korea at the Sapporo Dome on 8 November as well as the semi-finals and finals taking place at the Tokyo Dome from 19-21 November. TBS and TV Asahi, two of the most wide-reaching broadcasting networks in Japan, have acquired the broadcast rights in Japan for free-to-air television nationwide delivery of the entire 2015 WBSC Premier12 global tournament.

Expanding on the agreement with Videoland, WBSC has awarded the broadcast rights in Taiwan to Videoland for the upcoming 2015 U-18 Baseball World Cup in Osaka, Japan and next year’s U-15 Baseball World Cup in Japan and U-21 Baseball World Cup in Sinaloa, Mexico. Videoland also served the host broadcaster for the recently concluded U-12 Baseball World Cup 2015 in Tainan, Taiwan and will continue to serve as the host broadcaster for the 2017 and 2019 editions of the U-12 Baseball World Cup in Tainan.

Said President Cheng: “Adding the Baseball World Cup brand to Videoland’s portfolio fully aligns with our long-term growth strategy through the delivery of live, premium content that engages our loyal audience — to whom Videoland is uncompromisingly committed.”

The WBSC leader hailed the agreement with Videoland as another key development of the sport’s global evolution.

“These are unprecedented and exciting times for the appeal of our sport at the National Team level,” said Fraccari. “The wide-ranging partnership with Videoland — from U-12 to the professional/flagship product — is the biggest ever for WBSC, and this is of particular significance as we try to earn our way back on the Olympic programme. Such breakthrough developments ensure that our sport will be continuing to enhance its momentum and global positioning to 2020 and beyond.”

Baseball/softball is one of eight new sports being considered by Tokyo 2020 following Olympic Agenda 2020’s landmark ruling last December that allows Olympic hosts to propose adding sports that are not currently on the Olympic programme but could help engage audiences and young people in the host nation and around the world.

2015 AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Championships: 441 Boxers Aim For Gold In Taipei

One of the most prestigious boxing events of the year begins this week, as the 3rd edition of the AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Championships starts in Taipei, Taiwan.

An excellent line-up of boxers from 45 nations have registered to take part in this tournament, and the sporting world will be able to view the future stars of women’s boxing firsthand.

Fast facts

What: AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Championships

Where: Taipei, Taiwan

When: 14-25 May 2015

On Wednesday 13th May, a press conference was held ahead of the Championships, where a wide range of boxing dignitaries attended, including AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu, Chairman of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee Hong Dao Lin, President of the Chinese Taipei Boxing Association Wunan Lee, Deputy Director of Education Weimin Jiang, Manager of the Gym Zhihan Chen, Supervisor Waldemar Mencel, Competition Manager Ben Cheng, plus the entire boxing team of Chinese Taipei.

Many members of the local media also attended, and the event was a perfect introduction for the upcoming competition.

The Tension and the Drama

Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien Chin is a hero in her home country, and will be the host nation’s biggest hope to reach the top of the podium.

The Taipei-based athlete was a gold medallist in the 2013 AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships in Albena, Bulgaria, and earned a silver medal at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

With such high expectation on her shoulders, can the super talented Chen Nien Chin use the pressure to her advantage, and triumph at the top of the strong Middleweight (75 kg) class?

The most anticipated battle of the Championships

Armenia’s Anush Grigoryan and China’s Chang Yuan have both achieved significant victories in worldwide events, and are in the midst of an intense rivalry having met in the ring three times already in their young careers.

The first clash was held in Albena over 18 months ago where the Chinese boxer won their inaugural meeting, while Grigoryan gained revenge in the qualification event of the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Sofia.

Chang Yuan won their third contest in the front of her home crowd during the boxing tournament of the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, and if they meet again in the Youth Flyweight (51 kg) class in Taipei, their fourth battle will be one of the most anticipated bouts of the entire competition.

One to watch

US star Jajaira Gonzalez is one of the most prodigious talents in all of boxing, and she has never been defeated throughout her boxing career.

Her list of accolades at such a young age is remarkable, with victories in the 2013 AIBA Junior World Championships, the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games and its qualification event, plus the AMBC American Women’s Youth Continental Championships.

Gonzalez is seeking another significant medal in the AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Championships, and the hugely talented boxer will attract much attention in the ring if she remains undefeated in Taipei.

AIBA AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu, during the press conference in Taipei 2015

AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Championships Key Facts

Continuing the excellent ascent of women’s boxing in terms of popularity, the final number of registered athletes is 441 from 45 nations.

The number of Youth athletes is 247, and they will be fighting in the following weight classes: 48 kg, 51 kg, 54 kg, 57 kg, 60 kg, 64 kg, 69 kg, 75 kg, 81 kg and +81 kg.

Additionally, 194 Junior boxers have registered in thirteen official weight classes: 46 kg, 48 kg, 50 kg, 52 kg, 54 kg, 57 kg, 60 kg, 63 kg, 66 kg, 70 kg, 75 kg, 80 kg, +80 kg.

Among the developing boxing nations, Afghanistan, Botswana, Burundi, Guatemala, Haiti, Kosovo, Nepal, Nigeria, Papua New-Guinea and Sri Lanka will all take part, while both DPR Korea and Thailand will make their debut in the AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Championships.

This event will also mark the first appearance of Canada in the tournament, and their team will be looking for medals alongside Vietnam, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

History of the AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Championships

The event was launched in 2011 when Antalya hosted the first edition of the Championships for Youth and Junior women’s boxers, and the best performances was achieved by China, India, Russia, Turkey and Sweden.

Japan and Kazakhstan also claimed gold medals in Antalya, with Australia, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia and Vietnam earning medals as well.

Albena, Bulgaria hosted the second edition of the AIBA Women’s Youth & Junior World Championships in September 2013, where the Powerful Russian side claimed five gold medals, with Poland and United States both earning three top positions.

Ten of the thirteen junior gold medallists from Albena will compete again in the Championships in Chinese Taipei, and the host nation will be looking to improve on their two historic golds from two years ago.

Taekwondists in high spirit for WTF Youth Olympics qualifiers, World junior championships

The taekwondists during a training session with the national coach in Abuja at the weekend

For being selected to be part of Team Nigeria to this month’s World Taekwondo Federation Youth Olympics qualifiers as well as the world junior championships in Chinese Taipei, the athletes are all in high spirit in readiness for the global tournaments.

With the nine invited all gold medalists at the maiden National Youth Games, the contingent are in Abuja tuning up for the championships scheduled for March 20 to 27.

The captain of the team, Shola Olowookere of Lagos State said: “I feel great to be representing Nigeria for the very first time. It has not been difficult to combine my school with participating in sports. The camp has been interactive, and we have learnt so much from each other.”

Also Mohammed Bashir of Yobe said: “Training in camp has been educative, and I have learnt a lot. Speed techniques and movement are some of those key areas I have learnt some things. I hope I can win a medal in Taiwan Insha Allah.

“It exposes the youth to international competition, and makes us to feel the Olympics is not only for the adults but for us again. It feels great to be one of the people to participate in this upcoming championships representing Nigeria. By the special grace of God, we will make Nigeria proud,” said Abdullah Adegoke of Osun State.

Also, Adegoke’s sibling, Luqman said: “I feel ready, but I know we need to train harder to become even better. The camp was very short, but with the little time, we are ready. At the Junior Olympics, I expect to see young people like us. The camp has been very lively, and I have enjoyed it.”

For Iniobong Ekong of Bayelsa, representing Nigeria is a big honour. “This is the first time I will be competing for Nigeria, and I feel great about it. I feel like I can win a medal. I have finished my secondary school, but I have not taken JAMB to enroll in the university because of funds. I hope this trip can open an opportunity so I can be given a scholarship. In Taipei, I expect to see other young people like me, but they have arms and legs like us. The little camp has been good, because I have learnt many things and my stamina has increased,” she said.

However, 2008 Beijing Olympics medalist, Chika Chukwumerije highlighted the gains for the athletes.
“Two or three of them stand a slight chance, but I do not expect them to win medals on their very first international competition with no prior international experience and extended training. They are all eager to do well and win medals; their drive and passion is worth all the investment. For me, participation will change their lives; they will see new places, meet young people from all over the world, form healthy relationships, and learn new competitive tactics and strategies. The inspiration from this trip would ensure and guarantee future success. Most importantly, it would increase Nigeria Taekwondo chances for next year’s AAG and Rio Olympics.”

“They are the future of Nigeria Taekwondo. A good investment now would surely increase the size of medal dividends in the next decade. I hope they get scholarships, endorsements, training aids/equipment and every other pampering that is important for the development of a young athlete, so they can grow into mature confident adult competitors and leaders,” Team Nigeria captain to the London 2012 Olympics said.