Kenya ready to defend title at Tong Il Moo Do tourney, says Mwakio

Kenya Tong Il Moo-Do federation president master Clarence Mwakio says Team Kenya is ready to defend their title at the 11th edition of the Mombasa Open International Tong IL Moo-Do championship that begins this Friday until Sunday at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, Mwakio said Team Kenya also known as Jasiri has been practicing for the last one week and are now ready to take on their opponents.

“The team has been preparing well for the last one week and from Monday they will be doing their final preparation as the tournament draws closer. I am sure they will be ready to deliver a good performance and retain the title,” said Mwakio.

The event holds World Championship status and is expected to draw participants from 42 countries including; Paraguay, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Brazil, Cyprus, Côte d’Ivoire, The Philippines, South Korea, Cambodia, Japan, The Republic of Congo, and Iran.

Mwakio is nevertheless wary of the threat posed by The Philipines who are considered to be Kenya’s main rivals in the tournament.

“The Philippines have been our main rivals in the competition and we have made sure that we have trained well ahead of the championship. We are also aware that Iran is coming with a huge squad, Turkey has a good team like DRC. Don’t forget also that Zambia has always been a hard nut to crack and thus it is going to be an exciting event,” added Mwakio.

The sport has been in Kenya for the last 35 years and Master Mwakio is planning to spread it to all parts of the country with 12 counties having already embraced the sport.

“This game is all about passion and dedication. We have always made sure that we are spreading the game across the country and our target is to make sure that it is in all the 47 counties,” said Mwakio.