Nairobi — Kenya is in the process of rallying African countries to campaign for the admission of Tong Il Moo-Do as an Olympic sport in the next five or 10 years.
Kenya Tong Il Moo-Do president Clarence Mwakio said they have so far convinced 12 countries on the continent to join the quest to convince the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to introduce the martial arts sport as part of the quadrennial event.
"The campaign is on course... In Africa, we have adopted a strategy where we want to lobby at least 30 countries who are members of IOC and to encourage them to take up the sport. We have already rallied around 12 countries, who actively participate in our tournaments. Once we have more than 30 countries, we will join up with other federations from Europe, Asia, South America and America who will also bring their pool of federations," Mwakio explained.
He added: "We need around 120 countries to support our campaign and believe that this is achievable. Within a period of five to 10 years, we can do that (campaign successfully for admission of Tong Il Moo-Do."
The countries that have thus far bought in to the idea include Uganda, Zambia, DR Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Angola, Mali and Mauritius.
Mwakio said the admission of the sport into the Olympics will open another pathway to medals for Kenya considering the country is one of the powerhouses on the continent, and worldwide.
"If Tong Il Moo Do gets into the Olympics, I can assure you that Africa will increase its medal haul, especially Kenya. We often compete for the first position at the Mombasa International Open with Philippines who are one of the giants of the sport in the world. We have to support our country in areas where we are strong so we can increase our medal tally at these competitions. That is what other countries have done," he said.
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The country is set to host the 10th edition of the Mombasa International Open Tong Il Moo Do Championship set for Aga Khan Multipurpose Hall in December.
Turning his attention to the week-long competition, Mwakio expressed optimism that this year's edition will be bigger and better compared to last year when the country was in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Everything is on course. This year, we have already received confirmations from 20 countries and more are continuing to do so. Paraguay were unable to attend last year due to the pandemic and omicron virus but this time they have confirmed participation. We will also have the U.S., Philippines - who are our biggest competitors - Iran, DRC and Thailand as some of those participating. This time, they are coming with a bigger team than last year," he said.
He added: "We met with the Sports Cabinet Secretary (Ababu Namwamba) and updated him on the plans. He was receptive to the tournament and promised that the government will support the event to succeed."
Kenya emerged winners of last year's edition - also held at Aga Khan - after topping the medal table with 39 gold, 33 silver and 52 bronze.
