Africa-Press – Kenya. Mombasa is fast becoming a hotspot for taekwondo talent, helping to boost the standards of the sport in Kenya, according to the Kenya Taekwondo Federation.
Federation secretary general George Wesonga said they are looking forward to getting more players from Mombasa as the focus now is mainly in the county.
“With this kind of weather, it is easier to produce players from here. The weather favours them because of the low altitude. We are really focusing in Mombasa right now,” Wesonga said on Tuesday.
He said Mombasa has lately been producing good players who are young and fast, and are giving their Nairobi counterparts a run for their money.
He said there is now more commitment to taekwondo among the youth in Mombasa, which will help boost the standards of the sport in Kenya.
“I think Mombasa should be the place that we should really focus and rely on,” Wesonga said.
Kenya, he said, is not doing well so far prompting the federation to come up with various competitions as they seek to scout for talent across the country and nurture them.
For instance, the Mombasa Taekwondo Chairman’s Cup, which took place at the Aga Khan Academy, one of the partners in Mombasa, on Sunday, is one of such initiatives.
“And from May we will have what we call the Moran Championships every month. This will be supported by some of our very good partners,” Wesonga told the Star.
The Moran Championship’s purpose is to have consistency and sustainability.
“The more the athletes compete, the more they play, the more they are exposed and the more they improve. If they don’t go for competitions, there will never be any improvement,” Wesonga said.
He said the federation is investment in more competitions, and more training for the coaches and referees.
“We are glad that the National Olympic Committee is offering scholarships to our very good athletes. Our target is the 2028 LA Olympics,” he said.
Top taekwondo athletes aged between 18 and 24 years are being offered scholarships to train with more advanced athletes in academies in best countries like Germany.
On Sunday, Nairobi’s Regional Taekwondo Club boosted their players’ chances of selection to the national team to represent Kenya in the Taekwondo World Championships in South Korea in July.
The club emerged the overall winners in the senior category of the Mombasa Taekwondo Chairman’s Cup.
Players Veronica Wanjiku, from Tharaka University, and Samuel Onyango from Regional Taekwondo Club, said they will make Kenya proud, promising to do better than they did in the World Championships Under 21.
Wesonga said the level of competition was high in Sunday’s competition, boosting confidence that Team Kenya will perform at a high level in South Korea.
“More than 300 players took part, including both the junior and senior categories, and we are impressed by the level of competition. This gives us confidence that we will do well in South Korea,” Wesonga said.
Mombasa County Taekwondo Association chairman Dennis Ywaya and secretary general Joseph Makau said they are now producing better players because of the support they get from parents and partners like Antoren Investment, MZ Radiators, and Webnet Production Ltd.
Ywaya and Makau said they have identified coaches whom they want to improve their level of coaching by providing training for them.
“The experience that the coaches get is what streams down to the players,” Ywaya said.
The two said there are more than 4,000 players in Mombasa in schools and clubs.
Mombasa county sports executive Jonathan Wepukhulu said the county is supporting taekwondo by providing free venues for the sport to take place.
Governor Abdulswamad Nassir’s administration has given taekwondo free access to all social halls in the county to train.
“We want to have the best players coming from Mombasa,” he said.
