Duro Ikhazuagbe
28 October 2008
Lagos — Attempts by Senator Uche Chukwumerije to get the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) to reverse the match No 141 of the Beijing Olympics between his son, Chika and Greece's Alexandro Nicholaidias in the +80 kg category has hit a brick wall.
Chungwon Choue, president of the WTF in response to the petition filed by the Abia Senator in protest over the officiating of the fight, justified the position of the judges in favour of the Greek.
"Contrary to your letter (Petition), the Competition Supervisory Board did review the video replay and concluded that the decision was correct," stressed the WTF president in his official response to the petition fired by Senator Chukwimerije, a black-belt holder of the martial art.
In the letter dated October 14, Choue, who expressed his happiness over the Senator's interest in the career of his son, particularly his outstanding performances at both the last All Africa Games in Algiers and the summer games in the Far East, admitted that the WTF was doing everything possible to avoid disputes that will jeopardise the serious attention the sport is getting globally.
The WTF president, however, frown at the racists accusations the senator levelled against the referees and judges, insisting that there was no need for such since taekwondo was now a universal sport, accepted globally.
Senator, who watched the match at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium on August 23, had protested that his son was denied the final slot because of unmerited points awarded the Greek.
"Your claim on a racist mind-cast in the sport of taekwondo, however, is uncalled for. taekwondo is at the forefront of the Olympic Movement which advocates practice of sports without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit," insisted the WTF boss.
Choue admonished further that taekwondo has pride in the universality of a global sport that transcend differences of race, religion, politics and gender.
He recalled the many financial and solidarity supports of the WTF towards the development of the sport in the African continent.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
