Seventy-seven hearing-impaired students compete in Chung Do Kwan Championship

Seventy-seven hearing-impaired students took part in the second edition of the Chung Do Kwan and Deaf Empowerment Open Championship held at Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region. 

The event featured 37 students from the Koforidua School for the Deaf and Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and 40 from the Demonstration School for the Deaf in Akuapem Mampong comprising of 44 girls and 33 boys competed in the championship.

Under the theme, “We apply the power of Taekwondo to end the isolation and abuse of the deaf, especially girls”, the competition was organised by the Eastern Regional Sports Authority and Chung Do Kwan, Ghana. 

Participants competed in various Taekwondo activities, including basic Taekwondo display, ‘Gyeokpa’ (board breaking), ‘Kyorugi’ (sparring) and ‘Poomsae’ (forms) displays. 

In the girls’ category of the basic Taekwondo display, Esther Asomaning from Akuapem Mampong Demonstration School for the Deaf won gold, while, in the boys’ division, Desmond Adesan Gbenor, also from Akuapem Mampong Demonstration clinched gold. 

In the ‘Gyeokpa’ (board breaking) event, Leticia Oboh from Koforidua School for the Deaf and Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities won gold in the girls’ division, while Bright Henyo also from Koforidua School of Deaf took gold in the boys’ division. 

For the ‘Kyorugi’ (sparring) display, Christabel Ansah from the Mampong Demonstration School won gold in the girls’ division, and Obeng Emmanuel from the Koforidua School for the Deaf secured gold in the boys’ category. 

In ‘Poomsae’ (forms) display, Kelvina Arhin from the Koforidua School for the Deaf won gold in the girls’ division, while Emmanuel Obeng from Koforidua from Koforidua School for the Deaf, continuing his strong performance, also claimed gold in the boys’ division. 

Master Raphael Sylvanus Akoto, the President of Chung Do Kwan, Ghana in an interview with the Ghana News Agency described the championship as a resounding success, emphasising, that the platform has given students the opportunity to showcase their skills confidence and boost their confidence. 

“As this is only the second edition, we are excited to see growth, in male participation compared to last year, this shows that the students are beginning to embrace the value of martial arts,” Master Akoto stated adding that more students expressed interest in participating , but were unable to do so due to lack of funds for transportation from Koforidua to Akuapem and hope for more sponsorship in the future, to empower hearing-impaired students through such sporting initiatives. 

Source: GNA