THE good response to the Nestle Koko Krunch Junior Taekwondo Championships over the years has led to the organisers expanding the event to three championships this year.
The Under-12 meet, now in its sixth edition, will see the introduction of a northern region championships in Sungai Petani on March 26 and an eastern region championships in Kuantan on April 30.
The gold medal winners from both northern and eastern competitions qualify for the central region championships on May 21 at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium.
About 1,400 exponents from the age of seven to 12 are expected to compete in the event, a big increase from the 1,000 who competed last year.
Taekwondo Malaysia, president, Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar, said: "We are targeting our exponents to qualify for next year's London Olympics but it is in 2016 where I believe we will have a reasonable chance of winning medals and to achieve that we need good programmes at grassroots level.
"Exponents from this year's championships will probably be too young to make the 2016 team but it is not unlikely they will feature in the 2020 Olympics."
Tunku Imran added that he was delighted with the decision to include additional regional championships this year.
He commended Nestle Koko Krunch for supporting taekwondo development in the country and hoped that more companies would follow in their footsteps.
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