A felicitation ceremony to mark the South Asian Games Taekwondo achievements was held at the Grand Monarch Hotel with the participation of Santhush Woonjin JEONG, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea as the guest of honour.

Minister of Youth and Sports, Namal Rajapaksa, as the chief guest, felicitated the Taekwondo medalists. The event was organized under the patronage of Kanchana Jayaratne, President of Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation.

In his welcome address, Jayaratne said Korea is the mother country of Taekwondo, and the support extended by World Tekwondo and Kukkiwon World Taekwondo Headquarters to promote Taekwondo in Sri Lanka has been a pillar behind the success of the national team at the South Asian Games in 2019.

He also expressed confidence that the remarkable achievement at the South Asian Games will be a stepping stone for bigger win for the Lankan Taekwondo team.

Ambassador Santhush Woonjin JEONG congratulated all the winners in the South Asian Games, adding that “I hope to see you achieve not only medals at the South Asian Games but also medals at the Asian Games and the Summer Olympics. I am confident that the steadfast support and commitment of the Sri Lanka Federation of Taekwondo and the Ministry of Sports will assist all of you in achieving greater goals to make your motherland proud”.

The Ambassador pledged his support to promote the Taekwondo movement in Sri Lanka. The Korean Embassy is planning to hold a Taekwondo Championship tournament in a face-to-face gathering this year. It will be delightful to witness cooperation between the youth on sportsmanship, which will create a new highlight in Korea-Sri Lanka relations.

Minister Namal Rajapaksa expressed his gratitude to Korea for providing its fullest support to advance the sport in Sri Lanka and for the guidance provided for the national team to achieve their goals in the world circuit.

“To build future goals for sportsmen and women in Sri Lanka, we need to look beyond the South Asian Games to Asian and Olympics achievements. The work plan should include the ultimate goal of winning medals at the Olympics games”, he stressed.