A Journey with Team Yemen

This article is written for the promotion of Incheon Asian Games 2014. The link is hereby given
http://blog.incheon2014ag.com/team-yemen/

It was an exceptional shining day to spend with the team Yemen who are here in Korea for their training sessions in taekwondo. Like many other participating teams of IAG including Iran, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Srilanka and Cambodia, team Yemen was here in Korea to participate in the training sessions to excel the skills of the athletes. Actually, according to the directives of the OCA (Olympic Council of Asia), Incheon Vision 2014 was established in 2007 to bring close the Asian sports committees and to bring their sports level to equipoise. According to this concept, the individual training camps of brilliant young athletes, coach dispatches and working out, sports amenities, equipment support and other financial related matters would be assisted to develop the interest of the participating countries and to bring equal opportunities across the Asia to promote friendship, peace and culture through sports. Team Yemen scheduled their training from May 1 to May30 with the Korean professional trainers and instructors.

Being an IAG crew it was a nice opportunity for me to spend some time with the team Yemen. It was Sunday 18May, 2014 when I along with the IAG media organizer and another IAG crew member went to the Royal hotel of Incheon to see our guest athletes. Royal hotel is one of the famous hotels of Incheon and the guest athletes from different countries are accommodated there because of its international standards. We have to travel to the Ganghwa district, which is at a distance of 40 kilometer from Incheon. The schedule was kept relax since it was a visit to 2014 IAG venues and some historical and cultural place. Our Plan was to interview the team Yemen and team Cambodia during this short trip. There was a little problem in communication however thanks to Fawaz Muhammad, a player of team Yemen for interpreting and make our job easy. The Vision 2014 team arranged a bus to travel and a guide to lead the athletes throughout the tour.

Our first destination was the Ganghwa city district office which is located an hour distance travel by bus from Royal hotel Incheon. The players were really happy to see the IAG crews among them as we introduce ourselves. They were very friendly and gave a remarkable response to our concern. All of them were young, good looking and energetic but were unable to speak English however the coach of Yemen team Mr. Khalid and a player Muhammad Fawad were good in speaking English and they help us translate from the rest of players. Mr.Khalid Maqbool Alqadri being the coach of yemen team introduces his team which includes six athletes Mohanid, Sadam, Majid, Fawad, Ahmad and Tallal. Mr Khlid Alqadri who is master in Taekwondo joined the profession of Taekwondo 15 years back in 1992. It has been 6 years since he joined the national team of Yemen and in his supervision the athletes excels in their capacities and made some significant achievements. He is an international referee in Taekwondo since 15 years. Beside this, he is the General Secretary in the Yemen federation of taekwondo. Mr Khalid, the Coach of team Yemen told us that it has been eight time since he is visiting Korea and every time he had some new experiences full of fun and enjoyment. He said Korea is very beautiful. It is a modern and highly civilized nation with so much sanitation and greenery around that it became a source of gratification for their souls. The people of Korea are really affectionate and accommodating.

After an hour of travel we reached the Ganghwa taekwondo stadium. The location of the stadium was such a charismatic with its clean, gorgeous and charming environment. The players get excited after watching the stadium where they have to play after few months in the Incheon Asian games 2014. The tour guide told us that this is the place where the youngster taekwondo championship will be played after few days. After which this stadium will be hosting the Incheon Asian games and after that this place will be open for the people of Ganghwa and nearby to practice taekwondo. The guide further stated that this stadium can accommodate 4000 spectators. It is comprised of three stories, every story if fully facilitated with all the essentials. The athletes visited the different facilities provided by the stadium administration including the changing rooms, waiting rooms, lobby and the main stadium. The stadium look from both outside and inside was incredible, its adornment was in the final stages as the guide told us that all the required equipment’s and utensils  are scheduled to be ready before May20, 2014. The players gave us some gorgeous poses to be captured with our camera. The enthusiasm and passion can be seen from their faces.

In front of the taekwondo stadium across the road is BMX track. It was for the first time ever in my life to see such a track and it was truly amazing experience.  This is a well-planned and ingenious place which will be a venue of IAG 2014. The guest players from Yemen and Cambodia visited around and take many snaps. One thing I found among the Yemen players was their concern and interest in the games. They were observing every single place was much curiosity and eagerness. They said the locations of the stadiums are worth watching. The preparations of the Incheon Asain games 2014 are incredible and the credit goes to the IAG Committee. The arrangements and facilities they provided are outstanding. The accommodation, transportation and hospitality are worth mention. They have all the necessary equipment’s for training athletes in the games of Taekwondo.

Our next destination was the Ganghwa observatory, located at the border line of South Korea and North Korea. Being the closest boarder with North, this is believed as a place for peaceful reunion between the divided brothers. The location of the observatory was astounding as the separation line is fascinated by a river with blue water and lots of green mountains around. The athletes from Yemen and Cambodia expressed their affection for the location and exhibited their interests in the current situation of both the countries and the possible efforts which have so far done for the reunification. The guide who basically belongs to Ganghwa city enlightened the evidences of conflict and current scenario of unification. A brief introduction of this observatory was presented at the 2^nd floor of the observation desk. The person in charge told that the North lies in a range of 2.3 Km from where we were sitting and at some place the distance reduces to 1.8 Km along the river. Furthermore she explains about the existence of this reunification desk in which the current status of North Korea is familiarized by different sectors including politics, diplomacy, economics and society and culture artwork of the North is also presented. The facility describes the various efforts for reunification and offers a post-reunification vision as well.

Just after the outline, the players observe the North Korea land and their living environment through highly efficient telescope. They were extremely happy to see some North Korean farmers performing their day to day life activities. One of the players from Yemen asked me whether the North Korea is participating in the Incheon Asian Games, I said we can hope so and that would a great achievement of the IAG committee.  They players take a lot of pictures with geumgangsan monument, tanks and with the digitalize tree. The organizers offered us cold drinks, food, tea and coffee in the cafeteria and we had few moments of rest.

The players were quite tired and so were the end of our schedule however it was a memorable tour as the players mentioned that they had a real fun. They expressed their gratitude to the organizers for arranging such an informative trip and gave them an opportunity to see the North Korea from such a close.  The team Yemen presented some traditional gifts to the IAG crew members in memory of this wonderful journey. It was time to go back Incheon and take some rest. Most of the players went sleep while coming back to the hotel.

We do ask some questions from the coach of the Yemen team which he answered in a mature way and after consulting with his athletes.

All the questions and their answers are given here.

Fakhar Khan: How are your training sessions? And what are your expectations from this training?

Yemen Coach: Presently Korea is on top among those countries that are playing Taekwondo. This is because Korea is the birth place of taekwondo and also because of their technology, economy and love towards Taekwondo. The game of taekwondo is taught like a subject in Korean schools and this motivation excel their skills in the game. Korean coaches are very dexterous and our athletes learn a lot from them. Before I joined the Yemen team as a coach, a Korean coach lead the Yemen team and introduces them to a new era of Taekwondo enchanted with advancement and technology. This training is very efficacious so far in refining the skills and abilities of the Yemen players. We hope that technical support and training will make the team Yemen a virtuous candidate for the medals in Incheon Asian games 2014.

Fakhar Khan: Do you have any achievements in the game of taekwondo and what is the future of taekwondo?

Yemen Coach: Yemen team is one of the emerging teams in Asia in the field of taekwondo, we won bronze medal in the 2002 and 2006 Asian games. We had some good opportunities to play against world class teams in few previous years. Our team played well in Bahrain taekwondo competitions and stood 3^rd in the Jordan taekwondo competitions. Indeed these are great achievements for us. The players are training hard and we are hopeful to get a distinction in the IAG2014.

Fakhar Khan: Do you like the culture and food of Korea?

Yemen Coach: Korea is a remarkable place to live, the facilities and advancement has made it a residence of choice. First of all the Korean food was difficult to eat since there is a big gap of food selection between for Muslims abroad. However, we have plenty of food which is prepared by some Arab restaurants and their taste is wonderful.  All the people we meet so far are very cooperative and one thing we must appreciate is their being on tie. They are hardworking and their working style must be cherished.  We found similarities in our culture as they respect their elders and so are we. They love their traditions and norms and so are we, the only difference is that they have raised their living standards while our people have still the same life.

Fakhar Khan: Your message for the viewers of Incheon Asian Games face book page?

Yemen Coach: The metropolitan government of Incheon has done a great job by providing a marvelous environment to the athletes to show their skills. The location of stadiums and the preparation are highly valued. So it’s our turn to come forward and show our domain in different games. Incheon is such a beautiful city, I would like to say every person of the Asia to support the Asian games because this is a unique opportunity to share our sports , culture and traditions with the international communities and specially the Asian countries. This is a great opportunity to show our love, respect for each other and to promote the eternal peace.