Thursday June 30, 2005
SEOUL: The high-kicking martial art taekwondo may lose its place in the international spotlight if it is it given the boot from the Olympics.
Taekwondo, baseball, softball and modern pentathlon are considered the sports most threatened with elimination from the Olympics in 2012 when the International Olympic Committee have a meeting in July in Singapore.
The president of the World Taekwondo Federation said he has mounted a big international campaign to win supporters for the martial art, while reforming the sport to make its judging easier to understand and its action more viewer friendly.
“It was time for us to change,” Choue Chung-won told foreign correspondents on Tuesday. “Our main goal has been transparency for our sport.”
Choue is looking to introduce electronics into the protectors taekwondo athletes wear during matches, which will indicate when they have been struck by a blow. This is aimed at clearing up questions of judging.
More points will be given for athletes who can deliver effective blows through difficult techniques. The time of the match has been shortened and the area of competition decreased in the hopes of increasing action.
Working against taekwondo, an Olympic sport since 2000, are the lack of media attention and its low television ratings.
There have also been charges of judging bias and the sport has also been tainted by its link to Kim Un-yong, a former IOC vice president who was jailed for corruption.
The IOC will hold a sport-by-sport secret ballot to determine which of its 28 sports to eliminate to cut down on the size of the summer Olympics. A sport must receive 50% support from the expected 115 IOC members to be retained.
Golf, karate, roller sports, seven-a-side rugby and squash are on an official waiting list to replace dropped sports. – Reuters
Source from http://www.thestar.com.my
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