Taekwondists gain respect around world

The rapid development of taekwondo in China has become a good model for the sport's future in the world, according to chief official of the China Taekwondo Administrative Center (CTAC), the sport's governing body.

"China has now been recognized as one of the forces in taekwondo and our development in the past decade is described as a model by some officials from World Taekwondo Federation (WTF)," said Zhao Lei, deputy director of CTAC.

"Our technique is also in the world's leading club. And thanks to hard work and intelligence, Chinese athletes have won respect from the world."

In the recently concluded "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 Taekwondo International Invitational Tournament, host China led the medal table with two golds, four silvers and ten bronzes in the four-day event. Taekwondo powerhouse Turkey followed with two golds.

Canada earned one gold and two bronzes. France, Tunisia and Spain each won one gold.

"The whole world was surprised by the impressive performances of our rising athletes. China has traditionally depended on women athletes to win golds in major international competitions. But through this tournament, we can see our men's athletes are rising remarkably. Some of them have reached the world's top level," Zhao said.

But Zhao is a bit concerned the team will now draw "extra attention" from potential Olympic rivals, so he asked his athletes to take every day like it is the Games.

"We are the host of the Olympic Games and we are now under the spotlight. Our biggest opponents will make more research on our techniques and tactics.

"I told our team to work harder and take every day like playing in Olympic Games."

Zhao himself is one of the most prestigious referees on the mat and his status reflects China's rise in the sport.

He has been selected to the final referee list in Beijing, making him the only referee to appear at all three Games since the sport was introduced in Sydney 2000.

To Zhao's delight, China's emergence has also sparked interest from some other countries, who are asking for time to train with Chinese athletes.

"In the past we lacked such chances to train with good players from other countries. But, until the end of this tournament, we have interests from Jordan, France, Spain, Tunisia, and Venezuela."

Zhao said Mali's world champion Daba Modibo Keita was the latest one to ask to join the national team's training session.

"It means he will become our teammate rather than our rival. It will be great experience for our athletes and definitely help improve our levels.

"In Europe, there are training camps every year and in some countries like Iran and South Korea, there are pro leagues. Their athletes have many chances to compete together. Our players have very good skills but like the competition experiences. So I am very glad to see some of them join us and train together."

The team went to Tianjin for its second training session on Tuesday and is gearing up for April's Asian Championships, the last major tournament before the Olympics.

Zhao said what bothers him most right now is the potential for injury.

"Injury is actually an inevitable part in taekwondo. So first of all, I ask the coaches and athletes not to be overcautious during training and competitions. We have to find the best way to keep balance.

"Secondly, we still have to work to improve our techniques to avoid major injuries. This is also one of the reasons that we invited South Korean Lee Dae Sung to coach the team. Under Lee's guidance, Chen Zhong has changed her style of steps and I think it will do good to her future career.

"We also tighten up the control on the athlete's food and drink. We will ask them to drink 3000-5000ml of water every day as it's the best to make up for their lost water."