Tong IL Moo-Do tourney begins in Mombasa
What you need to know:
- Kenya Tong-IL Moo-Do Federation president Clarence Mwakio officially opened the championship at 5:25 pm on Saturday at the Agah Khan Academy hall in Mombasa
- One hundred and thirty players from 10 countries are taking part in the annual championship that has faced organisational challenges this year
- Mwakio said the event will run until Tuesday to allow other foreign participants and referees and officials to arrive in the country
The 10th edition of the Mombasa Open Tong -IL Moo -Do International Martial Arts Championships has kicked off without government funding.
Kenya Tong-IL Moo-Do Federation president Clarence Mwakio officially opened the championship at 5:25 pm on Saturday at the Aga Khan Academy hall in Mombasa.
One hundred and thirty players from 10 countries are taking part in the annual championship that has faced organisational challenges this year.
At a press conference prior to the officially opening ceremony of the competition, Mwakio said the event will run until Tuesday to allow other foreign participants and referees and officials to arrive in the country.
“We’re hopeful that before the end of the championship the government will have disbursed the funds. At the moment, we are operating on goodwill and despite the challenges, players and officials are at the venue to compete,” said Mwakio who is also the president of the African body governing the sport.
The Kenyan team popularly known as Jasiri is in low spirits but they are determined to retain the title that they have won for the last nine editions.
The countries which are already in the country are debutants Dominican Republic, India and Denmark. Others are USA, South Korea, Zambia, Paraguay, Brazil, Japan and hosts Kenya.
The championship will continue Sunday from 2pm with individual players categories.
Efforts by Nation Sport to contact Sports Director Gerald Gitonga were unsuccessful as he did not pick our calls but sent an short message saying he will call back. He had not done so by the time of going to press.
On Friday, Director, Culture Diplomacy at Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Ambassador Ann Wanjohi said the government will ensure that the event will go on as planned.
“We’ll continue to cooperate with the Ministry of Youth and Sports because sports is good,” said Wanjohi who appreciated all visiting teams for coming to the country to participate.
Despite delays in disbursement of funds by the government through the Ministry of Sports, Mwakio is optimistic that those concerned will come to their aid to ensure the tournament is completely successfully.
