Thailand to boycott North Korean taekwondo at SEA Games
World Taekwondo (WT) has threatened to ban nations that send athletes to participate in North Korean-style taekwondo at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
Thailand has responded by saying it will not send its taekwondo athletes to the Games.
Thai taekwondo athlete Panipak "Tennis" Wongpattanakit is the current Olympic champion at 49kg.
Cambodia has said that the North Korean form of taekwondo will be among 39 sports disciplines featured at next year’s SEA Games.
Meanwhile, news that the Games will not feature futsal, rugby, shooting, archery or rowing has sparked more controversy. Cambodia explained that it lacks either athletes, facilities or both to organise competitions in these sports.
However, the host is likely to include the North Korean style of taekwondo under ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) rules.
The WT uses different rules for its taekwondo competitions, though the kicks are the same.
ITF taekwondo is geared more towards self-defence while WT taekwondo is geared more towards sparring.
ITF taekwondo has never been included at the SEA Games, Asian Games or Olympics.
Chaipak Siriwat, vice president of the Olympic Committee of Thailand, said Thailand will not send any athletes to compete in this sport, while it was up to other nations to consider whether they would send athletes.
He said that WT would ban nations from the 2022 Asian Games if they sent athletes to compete in ITF taekwondo competitions.
