Medal hauls assured from Taekwondo in Sukma XV

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SIBU: Sarawak Taekwondo Association (STA) is confident of surpassing the two-gold medal-haul achieved in the last Sukma, and is looking at the women exponents to deliver in the coming Sukma XV in Pahang .

STA coordinator, Thomas Tang said his optimism was based on the recent friendly matches at Bukit Lima Indoor Stadium here.

“The exponents displayed true grit, perseverance and determination to win during the friendly matches. If they continue to possess such strong mentality and are in the right frame of mind, there is every chance we will achieve a better result than that at the last Sukma,” he said.

The friendly match was jointly organised by STA’s affiliated clubs in the central region which include Bumi Kenyalang Taekwondo Club (BKTC), Rajang Taekwondo Club (RTC), Sri Sibu Taekwondo Club (SSTC) and Meradong Taekwondo Club (MTC).

A total of 20 members of the state Sukma XV shadow team took part in the friendly matches aimed at sharpening their taekwondo skills.

Tang, who is also the head instructor of RTC and the chairman of STA Referee Board, described the friendly matches as an `eye-opener’ for the local exponents, many of whom were simply way off the standard compared to the Sukma shadow team.

He said the Sukma shadow team had undergone centralised training in Kuching since December 2011.

“They had been working round the clock and all of them have only one thing in mind and that is to bring back as many gold medals as possible for the state,” he said.

Tang did not rule out the possibility that the Sukma shadow teams might be sent for overseas exposure tournaments in the next few months.

Tang also looked to the women exponents to deliver but he refused to mention names.

“Traditionally, our women exponents have always managed to raise their game and they are expected to play saviour should our men exponents fail to deliver.”

The state team is managed by Chung Chuan Ping and coached by Lee Wai Yieng, a former national taekwondo exponent.