Coach Choi swaps taekwondo for e-sport at Sport Metaverse Challenge
Choi Young-seok, the renowned coach of Thailand’s national taekwondo team, said he is excited to be selected as a judge for the “Sport Metaverse Challenge #1” e-sport tournament this weekend.
The event is part of the Thailand Metaverse Expo 2022 organised by Nation Group Plc in association with BlockMountain, MetaverseXR and B-Lay Plus. The expo kicks off this Friday and runs until Sunday at centralwOrld LIVE, on the 8th floor of centralwOrld in Bangkok.
“I have been working as a taekwondo coach for the Thailand team for many years, but this is the first time I will be a judge,” said Coach Choi.
“I hope to see young e-sport players bringing their skills and knowledge of modern technology to improve the sports scene in Thailand, as well as inspire the new generation’s interest in both physical and virtual sports. I also wish the 10 finalists good luck in the final round this Sunday.”
Coach Choi, 47, was granted Thai citizenship in February this year, seven months after leading Thailand to its historic first taekwondo gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
Other highly qualified guests invited to be judges in the Sport Metaverse Challenge #1 include Dr Trakarn Punthumlerdrujee of Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Sport Management; Nares Laopannarai, secretary-general of the Thai Digital Asset Association; Sirirat Yonyothinkul, former national team basketballer; and Pongwud Praipaisankij, director of the Metaverse Association of Thailand.
Sport Metaverse Challenge #1 aims to explore ideas to boost the potential of athletes using virtual reality technology. Thirty teams of 85 students under 25 years old from 17 schools around Thailand were invited to compete in 10 virtual sports disciplines: Badminton, athletics, golf, table tennis, fencing, Thai boxing, weightlifting, archery, skiing, and long-boat rowing.
The 10 best teams will will face each other in the final round, which will be held from Friday to Sunday (August 19-21).
