THE 2008 Korean Ambassador’s Cup Tae-kwondo Championship Tournament will be held at Thuwanna Indoor Stadium on December 2 and 3,
a Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) spokesperson said last week.

It’s the second such tournament held this year and will be made possible by the joint efforts of the South Korean embassy, KOICA, Myanmar’s Ministry of Sports and the Myanmar Taekwondo Federation (MTF).

The tournament will be split into four levels: Ministry (Olympic weight), state and division, young juniors and juniors.

A further split will be team and individual competitions.

“Since 1990, when taekwondo was introduced into Myanmar, it has become a popular sport thanks to the concerted efforts of the Ministry of Sports, the MTF, KOICA, other coaches and players,” a KOICA official said.

Under KOICA’s technical cooperation program, a taekwondo master, Mr Yu Ung-Cho, was dispatched to Myanmar in 2004 and has since been teaching Myanmar’s national squad, with the aim of increasing its competitiveness internationally.

“It ’s expected that this event will be a great opportunity to help Myanmar players improve their own taekwondo capabilities, and will contribute to streng-thening friendly relations between Korea and Myanmar,” the KOICA official said.