Para Taekwondo team begins LA 2028 push
The Namibia National Paralympic Committee (NNPC) brought together the country’s five active Para Taekwondo athletes in Windhoek last weekend for an inaugural training camp.
Held at Jan Möhr Secondary School and a dojo in Khomasdal, the six-day camp was spearheaded by head coach Geneva de Jager, alongside senseis Warren de Jager and Martin Sarry Neumbo.
The camp was held in preparation for a development training camp with top instructors from around the world at Taekwondowon in Muju, South Korea, from 30 June to 7 July.
Thereafter, the athletes will compete at the Gangwon Chuncheon 2026 World Para Taekwondo Open Challenge from 8 to 9 July in South Korea.
Namibia will be represented by athletes in the K44 class. The “K” refers to kyorugi, the Korean term for sparring, while K44 is the Para Taekwondo sparring class for athletes with upper-limb impairments. Bouts are contested according to weight divisions.
The contingent comprises Victory Negumbo from Oshakati, Killian Teopolina from Eenhana, Cobie Bok from Windhoek, Anastacia Ndondi from Mariental and Sarafina Jonas from Okalongo in the Omusati Region.
Intensive training
Speaking to this publication about the camp and the athletes’ upcoming international assignments, head coach De Jager said the camp was an intensive training programme to prepare the athletes for South Korea.
She said South Korea forms part of the team’s early push towards the Los Angeles (LA) 2028 Paralympic Games qualification pathway.
“This will be the athletes’ first-ever open challenge. It’s a G4 [grade four] competition, so it’s a developmental championship, but it will give them a shot at the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games,” she noted.
She added that the team is working hard to build a solid foundation and make the right technical improvements that could ultimately help them qualify for the Paralympics.
De Jager also called on athletes with upper-limb impairments who would like to be part of the team to reach out to the NNPC.
“If you have a limb deficiency, we call it K44, as it puts you in a category where you have to work or kick with your feet, so you should reach out to your nearest NNPC office. They can allocate a sport for you,” she said.
“We have [roughly] 20% of the population living with disabilities, but at this moment only 0.1% to 2% of that population are athletes, which means there’s a big margin [and room for these individuals to be involved in sports].”
Countless opportunities to grow
One of the Para Taekwondo athletes, Bok, said the camp provided invaluable experience and gave the athletes another perspective on sport, self-acceptance and pride.
Bok said the athletes will be graded at the international training camp, having never competed internationally before.
“Our training camp at home went very well. It allowed us to apply what we have put countless training hours into with the assistance of our coaches and instructors,” he said.
Bok said the team is now looking forward to being officially graded at the South Korea development camp.
“I would like to encourage and also invite other para-athletes with upper-limb disabilities to join Para Taekwondo.
“There are loads of opportunities to grow for you, not only going abroad [to events], but teaching yourself discipline and enriching yourself with knowledge. Our doors are open to all who are interested,” he noted.
The training camp, which ran concurrently with the country’s national boccia team training camp, was graced by the presence of Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) chief administrator Freddy Mwiya.
Mwiya, a two-time karate world champion, sixth-dan black belt and Renshi, also went up against athletes on the boccia court and taekwondo mat in their respective sports.
Fruits of giving chances
Speaking to athletes after the sparring and face-offs, Mwiya expressed pride in the opportunity to compete against them.
“I am very happy that you gave me the opportunity to compete with you and get to know how difficult and how easy it is [to compete at this level]. I used the words how difficult and how easy it is because people think sport is difficult,” he said.
Mwiya said sport is not difficult, but is measured by the heart athletes have. He said the athletes beating him at their own game showed they have the heart and mentality to compete and win internationally.
“I am very happy that boccia and Para Taekwondo are growing. It’s my first time coming to witness boccia. When my brother JP [Jean-Paul Schmit] was pushing for this sport, a lot of people attacked my office [wanting us not to consider it],” he said.
Mwiya noted that he has since pushed back against those attempts, saying the government is there to assist all sport codes, especially those working on new initiatives to uplift their communities.
“If someone comes up with an initiative and some of you are still sleeping, don’t blame that person because they reached out and got assistance.
“Because the fruits of supporting such an initiative are evident today in the medals the boccia team got for Namibia.”
He also lauded the growth of Para Taekwondo, noting that the NSC had initially placed them on an interim process and that they have since brought in coaches and created “a very fast-growing niche” of athletes nationwide.
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