This archive report was first published on 4 December 2019.
On December 4, 2019, the seventh edition of the Mombasa Open Tong-IL Moo-Do International Martial Arts Championship was set to kick off at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa. The event was expected to attract teams from across the globe.
Among the teams that had already arrived in Mombasa were those from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Thailand. The Congolese team, comprising three players, was led by Sambay Koger, the country's Tong-IL Moo-Do Federation captain. Koger expressed his team's excitement to be participating in the championship for the first time and promised to give their opponents a tough fight.
“We’ve come here to give stiff opposition to any opponent we are to face and do well. When we return home, we want to teach other players and popularise what we’ve learnt from this championship,” Koger said.
The Thai team, led by Chaiwat Chantanom, a technical official, had also arrived in Mombasa. The team consisted of five players, including Nukun Chaloemphi, Sinakorn Chomchithana, Thiradet Muepae, Phimonwan Thangsakilsiri, and Jirnapha Khotthip. Muepae expressed his team's high hopes of doing well in the championship.
Kenya Tong-IL Moo-Do Federation chairman Clarence Mwakio and his assistant secretary Elvis Malipe, who is also the captain of the Kenya team, popularly known as Jasiri, received the teams at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa.
