In a letter with his signature, this September 4, Ji Ho Choi announced that he is leaving the presidency of the World Taekwondo Pan America and the vice-presidency of the World Taekwondo (WT).
MASTKD ESPAÑOL
Claiming physical exhaustion due to the demands of the position, the desire to spend time with his family and give all the attention to his school, Choi put an end to the presidential race that began in November 2007, in the elections of Cali, Colombia.
“I have been in deep meditation for some time to pass on the torch to a more deserved leaders and young progressive minded leaders who can take WT Pan America into a greater future. During this unforeseeable shutdown, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I have been working tirelessly with my cabinet members, athletes, and advisors to maintain the current infrastructure while considering what lies ahead”, says the official letter released by email.
According to the information given by Choi, who will temporarily assume the presidency of WT Pan America is the Colombian Helder Navarro.
The former president today explained that he had been considering the possibility of not running for re-election to the General Assembly that was to be held after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
” After being involved in Taekwondo leadership for the past 30 years, I was planning to leave my post by not running again as the President of Pan America in 2020 PATU General Assembly after the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 Pandemic has thrown a curve ball at our lives and Tokyo Olympic was postponed till 2021 and consequently, PATU is not able to hold an election in this year. Technically, my term has ended as of Aug. 31, 2020″, detailed Choi.
Among the achievements of Ji Ho Choi as the president of Pan American region, it stands out having achieved the inclusion of Poomsae in the different Multisport Games of the continent. In addition, having developed several virtual events in the context of the pandemic that is going through the planet.
“As I look back at the past 12 years, I must say we have done a pretty impressive job to modernize all events, added Poomsae in Pan Am Games and all other multi Sports Games, introduced Para Taekwondo in Para Pan Am Games, and recently included our sport into the first Pan Am Junior Games, and made positive progress to include mixed team Kyorugi competitions in Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games for the first time.
During this Pandemic period, I am extremely proud to have developed PATU On-line Live Poomsae Competition System with WCompetition, MasTKD, the unprecedented teamwork of Poomsae Committee, and our Tournament Chairman, Mr. Chuong Pham.
PATU is truly blessed to have these outstanding group of technical officials. But most importantly, I am proud of cultivating and instilling inclusiveness and unity among PATU leadership and MNAs for their cooperative collaborations to produce positive progress among our members”, said the former president.
By: Esteban Mora – Exclusive MASTKD.
