MOMBASA, Kenya, Nov 16 –The 11th edition of the Mombasa Open Tong-IL Moo-Do International Martial Arts Championship has attracted a record 42 countries ahead of the annual event slated for December 9-20 at the Aga Khan Academy – Mombasa Multi-Purpose Hall.
The nations to have confirmed so far are; Paraguay, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Brazil, Cyprus, Cote D’Ivoire, The Philippines, South Korea, Cambodia, Japan, The Republic of the Congo, Iran, Turkey, Zambia, Malaysia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, Central Africa Republic, Nepal, Angola, USA, Germany, and Kenya among others.
The entry is still open as more nations are expected to confirm their participation by the end of November.
Kenya Tong-IL Moo-Do Federation Chairman, Master Clarence Mwakio, speaking in Mombasa while making the announcement, said the national team, Jasiri is ready to haul more medals than last year even as 600 participants are expected to grace the event.
“The national team Jasiri is ready to host the more than 42 countries expected, infact we are more that excited because the more the nations the more competitive it is,” Mwakio said.
He added, “last year despite the challenges we had, we got more medals than we expected, so this time we aim to collect more.”
Last year Kenya was crowned the overall winner with a total of 181 medals; 46 gold, 54 silver and 85 bronze.
Master Mwakio is however, hopeful that the government through the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, will this year release funds well in time to help the global championship run smoothly.
“In the last nine years, we have had smooth sailing hosting courtesy of the massive support we got from the government, however, last year, we experienced head wings and it was very difficult to take off,” Mwakio said.
“We had a very tough period in 2020 and 2021 because of covid however the 2021 event was the most successful because we had a total of 16 countries and a high number of participants from more hat 5 continents, nevertheless we managed to pull the event last year despite setbacks.”
“We have addressed our issue to the ministry and I hope they will pay the pending bills and pay allowances to our team Jasiri.”
“We have had several meetings with the Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba and PS Peter Tum and we reiterated our clear vision for our sports and our intention to host the 2023 championship. We sent our request for funds to the government end last year and we reminded them in July this year.”
Mwakio is positive with the sport continuing to grow in the upward trajectory, the sport will be included in the Africa Games and Olympics.
“This event is a world championship and currently leading in the World Tong-IL Moo-Do Federation. The sport has been in existence for the last 35 years in the country,” Master Mwakio noted.
“We have been having a good run with team Jasiri since 2014, we have been winning top slots both here and outside the country, so we believe this is a sport that is a perfect candidate to be pushed to the Africa games as well as the Olympics because we know if Kenya gets to the Olympics through Tong-IL Moo-Do, we will be able to bring more medals.”
The sport is currently present in 14 counties and is expected to be in all counties in the next two years.
