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Japanese karate coach is optimistic about Cambodia’s future sport. During an exclusive interview facilitated by Japan Embassy in Cambodia, Shohei Toyama mentioned Cambodian athletes have the attitude and skills to succeed and stressed that they study and train very hard.
Toyama has long been affiliated with Teikyo University, one of the top ranking universities in the world. The school is well known for world-class sports programmed.
As part of the Japan Karate Shoto Federation (JKS), Toyama has trained karate players in more than 20 countries, including Qatar, Italy, Saudi Arabia, France, Italy, Canada and Denmark. The JKS is an organization based in Tokyo that spearheads the global promotion and development of karate. Currently has more than 200 branches around the world.
Together with an Iranian coach named Hassan, they tapped by the Cambodia Karate Federation (CKF) to train local athletes for preparation of major international competitions, including 2023 Southeast Asian Games.
According to Toyama, Cambodia stands good chance to win medals in 2023 SEA Games. Sports officials have put focus on the winning as well as the first time Southeast Asia’s biggest sports event host in Cambodia.
Cambodia has done well in international karate competitions in past years. In 2018, it won a gold medal in Thailand Open Karate-Do Championship, and another five medals in 7th Southeast Asia Karate Federation Championship held in Hanoi, Vietnam.
However, there are still several shortcoming that need to be addressed. National Olympic Committee of Cambodia Secretary-General Vath Chamroeun said the hiring of foreign coaches would help Cambodian karate fix these shortcomings with less than three years before the 2023 SEA Games.
Toyama is confident with good athletes commit to the sport and support from the Government and other sectors; Cambodian karate is destined for a good performance in the upcoming SEA Games and beyond.
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