Five carry STF flag to Ho Chih Ming City for 13th International Club Taekwondo Championship
Tu Wen Jing
SIBU: Sarawak Taekwondo Federation (STF) will send five exponents to the 13th International Club Taekwondo Championship to be held in Ho Chih Ming City, Vietnam from Aug 6-13.
Assistant team coach Chiew Mee Lin said it was difficult to predict their chances as this is the first time STF athletes are competing in the championship.
“However, we have confidence to return with at least one gold medal,” she told reporters at the flag handing over ceremony held last weekend.
The five are Tu Wen Jing, 17, Winnie Lau Lee Lee and Leslie Pang Ke Xuan, both 16, Lau Chung Dee, 19, and Lucas Chieng, 13.
Lucas and Chung Dee are down to compete in the poomsae category while the other three will feature in the sparring category.
Tu, a seasoned campaigner, will compete as a heavyweight while Winnie and Leslie will vie in the flyweight and bantam weight respectively.
Tu had been a revelation with her latest performance and collected numerous accolades in local including the East Malaysia National Taekwondo Championship and also other national events.
“Tu is our biggest medal prospect and, hopefully, she can return with something to showcase,” Chiew added.
Over 100 athletes from Malaysia will be competing against rivals from Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Jordan, Korea, the Philippines and host Vietnam.
Accompanying the team are team manager Sia Mee Yieng, coach Wong Ing Sing and international referee Pang Ming Sing.