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The art of self defence

Photo: R. ASHOK

Worthy Rich medal haul

Winning does matter. But what mattered more to the youngsters who performed exceedingly well at the recently concluded 20th State Taekwondo Championship, is the desire to keep up the good record.

They have to use the exposure they got at the tournament as a launch pad for their future successes at higher levels.

Over 1200 taekwondo players from various districts took part in the event, which was conducted in senior, junior and sub-junior categories. Seven players from Tiruchi – M.G. Santhosh Kumar (Light heavy), S. Mutharasan (Light middle), G. Muthulakshmi (Light) in the sub junior category, P. Vinoth Kumar (Bantam), T. Gracy Priya (Fin), L. Bhuvaneswari (Heavy) in the junior category and K. Muthu (Fly) in the senior section – won gold. This apart the Tiruchi players also won nine silver and nineteen bronze medals at the tournament.

“We have been doing consistently well in tournaments conducted at various levels. The result in the Tiruchi-meet was a reward for our sustained hard work. We hope to continue the good show in the upcoming tourneys,” says the General Secretary and Chief Coach of the Tiruchi District Amateur Taekwondo Association M. Ganesan.

Taekwondo is one among the popular sports in the district. The regular tournaments conducted by the district association and quality coaching are major reasons for taekwondo’s increasing popularity among youngsters.

“More than 30 schools in the city have taekwondo teams. With all the protective gears the chances of getting injured is very less. The good patronage from the parents helped a lot for the growth of the sport,” Ganesan says.

Tiruchi has thirty coaches and orientation classes are conducted regularly for them, which aims at keeping them updated on the latest advancements in taekwondo.

“It all depends on the coaches, since they are ones who are going to produce champions. Coaching standard in Tiruchi is high as compared to other districts, which is a big plus,” Ganesan adds.

Nearly 100 students in Tiruchi have completed nine grades in taekwondo and are working hard to make it big in the sport. But some others are not serious about achieving, but simply want to learn this art of self defence.

“We assess them once they join and study their interest. Separate classes are held for those who are not keen on participating in tournaments,” he says.

Ganesan wishes to popularise the sport in the rural parts of the district.

“There are talented youngsters in the villages. Now our aim is to give proper training and help them achieve,” he says.

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