Taekwondo has come a long way, but there is still work to do
Written by Writer on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
Taekwondo has come a long way, but there is still work to do
PIMOL SRIVIKORN
The 29th Olympic Games in Beijing finally came to a close. Each and everyday during the Games was exciting and memorable with many new records set.
There were a few hiccups along the way but as William Shakespeare wrote “All’s well that ends well.”
Team Thailand returned home with two gold and two silver medals to rank fourth in Asia and 31st in the world.
For Thailand’s taekwondo team, the silver medal won in Beijing by Buttree Puedpong was the Kingdom’s second Olympic medal in the sport.
Yaowapa Burapolchai was Thailand’s first Olympic medallist in taekwondo when he won a bronze medal four years ago in Athens.
Buttree entered the Beijing Olympics as the smallest, lightest and youngest among the 126 taekwondo exponents from 64 countries. Yet, her technical excellence and equanimity took her through to the final.
The Thai national team was ranked near 100th in the world when I joined the Taekwondo Association of Thailand (TAT) a year before the Athens Games.
Buttree Puedpong
Our world ranking shot to the top 10 after we won bronze in Athens. The following year we moved to fourth in the world after winning medals in several competitions such as the Asian Championships and the World Championships. We have been in the top five ever since, along with South Korea, Taiwan, China and Iran.
The success of our taekwondo team resulted from an effective collaboration among the three branches of the association - the executives, the coaches and the athletes.
When I took up the secretary-general’s position, there were many organisational problems.
First, the executives were divided into several factions each of which had its own agenda. Only a few directors were truly committed to working to improve the association.
Second, Thailand’s Korean coach Choi Young Seok, known affectionately as “Coach Chay,” who had just arrived in the country for two months, wanted to return home because he was caught up in internal politics and could not do his job as a coach properly.
Last, but not least, the association had very little money left.
With support from a couple of dedicated executives, I set out to solve problems and revitalise the TAT in many ways.
First, we revised the selection process for the national team players to make it completely clear and fair. Athlete selection must be based entirely on his or her merit. There must be no place for nepotism and only the athletes’ ability matters.
Moreover, I made it a policy that there must be more than one player in each weight class. This is important because taekwondo is a contact sport and there is a high chance of athletes getting injured. Therefore, replacements had to be on hand.
Second, with two of three fighters in a weight class, they have to work harder to compete with each other to represent the Kingdom. The association will then select the best from such a competition.
In addition, the TAT made it a policy to maintain and develop the junior teams, both male and female as it is easier for the coaches to teach them basic skills.
Buttree was also a member of our junior national team prior to becoming an Olympian.
Coaches are no less important than athletes. I give “Coach Chay”, who was assisted by three Thai coaches, full authority concerning the athletes.
Neither the association executives nor parents of athletes are allowed to interfere in our training programme. Even I rarely speak to the athletes without the presence of the coaches.
The main duty of the executive or the management branch is find and effectively allocate resources to support the coaches and the athletes.
My attempt to reorganise the association faced resistance in the beginning. However, with persistence and perseverance, the rest of the directors gradually followed my direction.
Financial support initially came from Mr Pricha Thotrakul and me since it was difficult to find sponsors without good results from our athletes.
Later, the Government Housing Bank became our major sponsor as we brought home medals. We also initiated a finance and accounting system to ensure transparency in the association. We must be able to clarify every baht received and spent.
Finally, the management put a lot of emphasis on sport science, nutrition science and meditation. For example, each Olympic athlete had a sport psychologist assigned to him or her until the day of the competition. These factors are instrumental in developing peak performance among our athletes.
It is undeniable that the Thai taekwondo team has come a long way in the last five years. This is truly a result of team effort. Credits must go to everyone involved - the executives, the coaches and the athletes.
Clear vision, effective management, hard work, dedication and transparent conducts are key to our success.
However, success must not lead to complacency.
I saw that the standard of play at the taekwondo competition in Beijing was raised higher.
With our goal to win a gold medal at the London Olympics, the Taekwondo Association of Thailand must continuously strive to develop and improve itself and its athletes.
Pimol Srivikorn is president of the Taekwondo Association of Thailand.
