The Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) has been suspended as an affliate to Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and by Taekwondo's world governing body, World Taekwondo (WT).
SNOC noted that it had 'grave concerns in the governance and high-performance management of the STF'. These suspensions came shortly after STF sent a lawyer letter to national athlete, Ng Ming Wei, accusing him of defamation.
He was accused for defaming the STF through an interview in which he said:
‘I don’t know why my carding has not been approved. To be fair to all parties, I therefore can’t say it’s anyone’s fault in particular. All I know is that Sport Singapore decides on carding based on input from the STF and its players.’
STF claimed that Ng has made "false allegations" and "misleading statements" towards STF that has "defamed STF by targeting (their) integrity".
Local alternative news site Mothership Sg, also interviewed many athletes who were working with STF. These athletes mainly expressed their dissatisfaction with STF. Ng said that these suspensions are
“a positive confirmation by World Taekwondo and SNOC that they are taking definitive action on these grave concerns”.
“I hope that this suspension will be followed up upon with further positive action designed specifically with the welfare and development of the players in mind,” Ng added.
We hope that that our national atheltes will be able to further excel in their sport with these changes. Wish them all the best in their upcoming games!
