ID :
36136
Wed, 12/17/2008 - 15:57
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/36136
The shortlink copeid
IOC athlete member vows to keep taekwondo alive at Olympics
(ATTN: RECASTS lead; ADDS background throughout in 2nd para and last five paras,
details throughout; TRIMS)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- A recently elected South Korean athlete member of the
International Olympic Committee pledged sweeping efforts on Wednesday to turn
around a controversy surrounding taekwondo at the Olympics.
Taekwondo, a Korea-originated sport, has drawn criticism over the years for a
lack of dynamism that results from athletes' preoccupation with defense in bouts.
Its contested point system should be streamlined, critics say, while China is
pushing to replace taekwondo with its own martial art, wushu, at the Olympics.
Moon Dae-sung, an Athens taekwondo champion elected to the IOC Athletes'
Commission at the Beijing Olympics, said at a news conference in Seoul that he is
pushing to address the issue with related bodies and plans to organize an
international forum on the sport next year.
Moon said he has discussed his plan with IOC President Jacques Rogge and hopes
that the forum will also lead businesses to invest in consolidating taekwondo's
presence in less developed parts of world.
"The issue of whether to keep taekwondo or drop it won't stand, as long as we
speak for it with our hearts," said Moon, 32, who beat the odds in August by
winning the most votes from Beijing athletes through a vigorous campaign.
"Taekwondo is the most symbolic (sport) of the Olympic spirit" in that it is the
most widely practiced martial art across the world, Moon said, adding he plans to
speak to the head of the Seoul-based World Taekwondo Federation to discuss ways
to streamline regulations.
"There are many areas where we can conduct research to help improve the sport,"
he said.
Moon, who won the over-80-kilogram event at the 2004 Athens Games, belongs to the
19-member IOC Athletes' Commission which has served as a link between Olympians
and the executive board since being founded in 1981.
Taekwondo was introduced as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and
became a full Olympic event in the 2000 Sydney Games.
It suffered a setback at the Beijing Games with a controversy over a belated call
that overturned the outcome of a knockout bout, and a separate incident where a
disgruntled Cuban athlete kicked a judge in the face in a show of poor
sportsmanship.
South Korea claimed half of four gold medals on offer in taekwondo at the Beijing
Games, reaffirming its dominance.
Taekwondo is practiced by some 60 million people around the world, according to
its advocates.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
details throughout; TRIMS)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- A recently elected South Korean athlete member of the
International Olympic Committee pledged sweeping efforts on Wednesday to turn
around a controversy surrounding taekwondo at the Olympics.
Taekwondo, a Korea-originated sport, has drawn criticism over the years for a
lack of dynamism that results from athletes' preoccupation with defense in bouts.
Its contested point system should be streamlined, critics say, while China is
pushing to replace taekwondo with its own martial art, wushu, at the Olympics.
Moon Dae-sung, an Athens taekwondo champion elected to the IOC Athletes'
Commission at the Beijing Olympics, said at a news conference in Seoul that he is
pushing to address the issue with related bodies and plans to organize an
international forum on the sport next year.
Moon said he has discussed his plan with IOC President Jacques Rogge and hopes
that the forum will also lead businesses to invest in consolidating taekwondo's
presence in less developed parts of world.
"The issue of whether to keep taekwondo or drop it won't stand, as long as we
speak for it with our hearts," said Moon, 32, who beat the odds in August by
winning the most votes from Beijing athletes through a vigorous campaign.
"Taekwondo is the most symbolic (sport) of the Olympic spirit" in that it is the
most widely practiced martial art across the world, Moon said, adding he plans to
speak to the head of the Seoul-based World Taekwondo Federation to discuss ways
to streamline regulations.
"There are many areas where we can conduct research to help improve the sport,"
he said.
Moon, who won the over-80-kilogram event at the 2004 Athens Games, belongs to the
19-member IOC Athletes' Commission which has served as a link between Olympians
and the executive board since being founded in 1981.
Taekwondo was introduced as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and
became a full Olympic event in the 2000 Sydney Games.
It suffered a setback at the Beijing Games with a controversy over a belated call
that overturned the outcome of a knockout bout, and a separate incident where a
disgruntled Cuban athlete kicked a judge in the face in a show of poor
sportsmanship.
South Korea claimed half of four gold medals on offer in taekwondo at the Beijing
Games, reaffirming its dominance.
Taekwondo is practiced by some 60 million people around the world, according to
its advocates.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
