BY JOY OFASIA
16 females were among the 32 local Taekwondo athletes who have received scholarships from the Solomon Islands National Institution of Sports.
Solomon Island World Taekwondo Union (SIWTU) Vice President Joses Dudley confirmed to Raw Sports that the 16 athletes were selected from four local taekwondo clubs (private clubs) in Honiara.
He said the 16 females with other male athletes have been selected from two taekwondo competitions held last year in Honiara.
“The criteria of selection was mainly based on the quality performance and hard work of the local athletes, which resulted in the final selection of the country’s 32 best Taekwondo athletes,” he said.
He said training has already started at the Solomon Islands National Institution of Sport (SINIS) in March 2022.
The SIWTU Vice President has praised the offered programs provided to the athletes under the SINIS’s scholarship and describes them as very unique.
“The different programs offered by SINIS are very unique and it will boost the morale of the athletes,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said the SINIS training program will have a positive impact and development on the country’s female Taekwondo athletes and he later encourages more women and girls to join the sport (Taekwondo).
He said that he has great confidence in the athletes, seeing them working very hard in their training.
“I know that they are spiritually, mentally, and physically fit and I have great confidence that they will make a difference in the Solomon Islands when it comes to next year’s 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara,” Dudley said.
