Four coaches from South Korea have come to tutor Taekwondo athletes

Laos’ Phouthavong Outhasak (in blue) fights with Cambodia’s Chhoy Bouthorn during their SEA Games taekwondo final December 12. AFP

THE National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), under supervision from its general secretary Vath Chamroeun, welcomed Friday four volunteer Taekwondo coaches – 2 men and 2 women – from different universities in South Korea. The coaches’ one month mission is to strengthen the ties between the two countries and share their experience with national taekwondo practitioners and young athletes at schools.

“It is important for our athletes to gain more knowledge, especially technically, from these instructors,” stated Hem Samnang, deputy general secretary of the NOCC and also president of Cambodian Taekwondo Federation. According to the official, the national team will travel to South Korea in June this year for more training.

“The Asian championship of Taekwondo will be held in August, in Kazakhstan, but our side won’t be able to join because of lack of sponsorship. However, we will prepare for other upcoming tournaments” added Hem Samnang.

For Vath Chamroeun, Taekwondo is one of the sports with the most potential in the Kingdom, the country’s practitioners having garnered many medals at international events.

“Recently, taekwondo took home seven medals [three silvers and four bronzes] from the SEA Games in Vientiane,” noted the general secretary. “This is a good account for our sports history from the regional tournament, and I hope [taekwondo] will bring us more for the next games.”

However, 43-year-old South Korean Choi Yongsok - who has spent the past 13 years coaching the national team - is more hesitant to show optimism. “My students have improved their performance a lot, but our target was the gold medal from the SEA Games,” he told the Post. “They need to do more hard work for the upcoming regional events. I believe that they will make progress if they have more training and more competitions.”