Troubled Taekwondo's athletes fight back

Seven-man SEA Games squad trains hard under calmer conditions after upheaval

National taekwondo exponents Yap Teng Chung (left) and Raja Zulfadli Raja Mahmod training at the OCBC Arena. A major Games preparation committee is overseeing training for the SEA Games in the wake of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation's suspension.
National taekwondo exponents Yap Teng Chung (left) and Raja Zulfadli Raja Mahmod training at the OCBC Arena. A major Games preparation committee is overseeing training for the SEA Games in the wake of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation's suspension. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
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As turmoil engulfed the Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) earlier this year, national taekwondo captain Raja Zulfadli Raja Mahmod feared that his decade-long career was over.

With just six months to the SEA Games in the Philippines, the athletes were worried that they would be left in limbo when the STF was suspended by international governing body World Taekwondo (WT) and the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) in May.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 29, 2019, with the headline Troubled Taekwondo's athletes fight back. Subscribe