The Korean martial art of Taekwondo, which on most days enjoys a lukewarm reception upon our shores, experienced a surge in its popularity when our country’s participating contingent for the sport returned home from the recently concluded South Asian Federation (SAF) games with the added weight of a gold medal.
The source behind this gold medal success came from Sri Lankan born twenty-year-old Keshia Suhail. In the final of the Under 57 kg event Suhail comprehensively outfought Manita Sahi of Nepal to emerge as the clear victor. Suhail receives most of her training in America, where she emigrated to at the age of ten and continues to reside in as a student of the University of San Francisco.
Ki Su Lee |
Sri Lanka Taekwondo national coach Ki Su Lee revealed that he was informed of Suhail’s undeniable talent by one of his associates in America who was training her. Coach Lee then agreed to assess her potential by taking her to a training camp conducted by the Korean national team to which he has close ties with. He said her performance there more than suitably impressed him and he went on to request for her inclusion into the Sri Lankan national team.
“Sri Lankan fighters like Keshia who are living abroad should be discovered and made to represent the national team because when they come to train here they will not only improve themselves but also the local standard of Taekwondo,” Coach Lee expressed while mentioning that he was met with stiff resistance from local authorities regarding her eligibility to contest in the games.
Coach Lee, a Korean national, has been involved with promoting and teaching the sport of Taekwondo in this country for the past 12 years. He first came here as part of an initiative launched by the Korean government to popularize the sport in Sri Lanka. He started off working closely with the Special Task Force in 1997 and now is heavily involved in the Taekwondo training regiments of both the Army and Police.
“Most of the national team is made up of members of the Police and Army Taekwondo teams so I was anyway working closely with the Sri Lankan fighters,” Coach Lee explains, good naturedly lacing his English with the occasional Sinhala phrase to demonstrate the bits of our culture he has picked up during his stint here.
When asked about the overall popularity of the sport in Sri Lanka he points to the previous lack of participation on a club and school platform as being a major cause for disappointment. “Things are slowly changing now though, there are inter university and inter-school competitions which are bringing younger students into the sport” Coach Lee explains.
Coach Lee maintains that age is an integral entity in Taekwondo. Most Sri Lankans are exposed to the sport at the age of twenty and are therefore limited in the development of their potential. Introducing the sport into schools and universities ensures that children will take up the sport and will have continuity in their training right up to a point where they are competent enough to represent the country.
He cites the national diet as another stifling factor for the sport’s development in this country. A diet which does not provide enough protein for muscle development cannot aid in the strong kicks and punches necessary for the sport.
However he says that the natural speed the Sri Lankan athletes are blessed with makes up for their lack of muscle mass. Once the stamina and strength of the athletes’ are developed then they can be even more successful in international competition.Coach Lee remains upbeat about Sri Lanka’s chances of overcoming its next hurdles in the international arena; the October Commonwealth Games in India and the 2012 London Olympics. He expresses confidence that if development of the sport is intensified and sustained then success in these two events might not be completely implausible. |
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