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| A taekwondo practitioner places a flower at the explosion site to offer her condolences in Beirut, Lebanon. Courtesy of World Taekwondo |
By Jung Min-ho
World Taekwondo (WT) will provide relief funds and items to Lebanon to support recovery efforts after an accidental explosion of ammonium nitrate killed more than 200 people and destroyed thousands of buildings there early this month.
The sport's global governing body said Thursday that it will send $30,000 and taekwondo equipment to the Lebanese Taekwondo Federation (LTF), which is struggling to cope with the aftermath of the Aug. 4 blast in Beirut.
During a recent video call with WT President Choue Chung-won and two council members ― Maher Magableh and Pascal Gentil ― LTF President Habib Zarifeh said 10 taekwondo clubs in the city were destroyed.
Upon receiving the report, Choue waived registration fees for all LTF athletes and coaches attending upcoming WT competitions and online training courses until 2021 to lessen their financial burden.
He also said WT and the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation plan to launch a campaign to raise funds for the affected children in the country.
"On behalf of the World Taekwondo family and the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation, I wish to express my heartfelt condolences to the residents of Beirut," Choue said. "During these most tragic circumstances, please be assured that World Taekwondo and its partners will do everything possible to provide support."
