KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — The Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) will review the decision to drop taekwondo from the list of core sports.
Its minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said a dialogue would be held in the near future to review the issues affecting the sports.
“I want a discussion to be held to enable us to review the issues to help advance the taekwondo... if we have internal problems, then we need to find the solution.
“I see taekwondo as the sports that capable of bringing the nation forward as well as uniting people of all races and be exemplary to other sports,” he told reporters after witnessing the grand final of the 13th Nestle Koko Crunch Junior Taekwondo Championship 2018 at the Juara Stadium, Bukit Kiara, here today.
In today’s event, a total of 384 participants from 21 clubs competed for the title and Tunku Imran Challenge Trophy.
Syed Saddiq, however, did not elaborate if the dialogue would also discuss the fate of two other sports that were dropped from the list, namely, weightlifting and sepak takraw.
In December last year, KBS announced that three sports were dropped from the core sports list but could still be contested in the 19th Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Perak this September.
The decision to drop the sports was due to unsatisfactory performance, doping problems and internal crises.
For the record, taekwondo athletes Chew Wei Yan and Yap Khim Wen won the men and women’s individual gold in Poomsae (non-sparring) event respectively, while Rozaimi Rozali also clinched gold in the kyorugi below 68 kg event in 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games (KL2017) last year.
Another taekwondo athlete Elaine Teoh has also competed in two Olympics, in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008). — Bernama
