The D.G Hathramni Sports Hall of the Accra Sports Stadium will get busy from Friday, August 18, 2017 and Saturday, August 19, 2017 when Ghana hosts its first International Open Taekwondo Championship.
The Taekwondo Federation has thus given the venue a massive facelift to meet international standards for the championship that will also serve as a ranking competition for Ghanaian athletes by the World [ads1]Taekwondo Federation (GTF).
The country is expected to host about 20 countries in the capital for the two day championship.
As at the time of going to press, about 15 countries including; Italy, Turkey, Malawi, Rwanda, USA, Togo, Morocco, Benin, Burkina Fasso, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Mali, Niger and Ghana had confirmed their participation.
President of the Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF) Fred Otu Lartey, explained that the World Taekwondo (WT) has been rebranded, and the tournament is open to male and female athletes above 17 years.
He said individual participants and clubs can register online to fight and earn points to be able to compete in international events.
He paid tribute to some past athletes like Charles Hanson Adu, Alex Da Rocha, Alex Mallet, Captain Edward Abban and some companies like Puma Energy, Epsilon Security, Accra City Hotel, Big Tanko Ltd, Korean Embassy, the NSA and others for the support towards the Championship.
He praised the National Sports Authority and Ghana Olympic Committee for their massive backing. He also urged the media to publicise the event for Ghanaians to be aware and come to the Sports Hall to witness the 1st Ghana Open which is sanctioned by the World Taekwondo Federation.
On his part, the Director General of the National Sports Authority, Mr. Robert Sarfo Mensah, commended all stakeholders in Ghana Taekwondo for making it possible for Ghana to be chosen to host the first ever international Taekwondo Championship.
He assured the Ghanaians that the government of Ghana through the Ministry of Youth and Sports was fully supporting the hosting of the event and acknowledged that Taekwondo is the most active sporting discipline in Ghana with participation throughout the ten regions of Ghana, and especially among second cycle schools.
He urged Ghanaians to involve themselves in the international programme to make it successful.
