Open trials of taekwondo for South Asian Games to be held from Dec 1-10

The IOA-appointed ad-hoc panel for taekwondo will conduct open trials to select athletes for the 13th South Asian Games (SAG) to be held in Nepal from December 1 to 9.

The selection trials will be held at Aurangabad Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre from November 18 to 20. The trials will be followed by a coaching camp from November 22 to 30.

In July this year, the Indian Olympic Association was forced to form a five-member ad-hoc panel to run the affairs of taekwondo in the country and conduct the federation's election within six months following the faction-ridden national federation's suspension by the Sports Ministry.

 

According to a statement from ad-hoc committee chairman Namdev Shirgaonkar, who is also the joint secretary of IOA, only the top 8 Indian players in world rankings are eligible to participate in the selection trials.

Besides Shirgaonkar, other members of the ad-hoc panel are S M Bali (IOA joint secretary), Sunaina Kumari (IOA vice-president), Digvijay Singh (IOA Executive Council member) and a nominee of the International Taekwondo Federation.

The ad-hoc panel also invited applications from interested taekwondo coaches for the South Asian Games-bound team.