A well-regarded Taekwando coach from South Korea seems unlikely to return to Thailand after one of his athletes accused him of physically assaulting her.
Choi Young Seok, Thailand’s Taekwondo Coach may not be returning to Thailand after Rungrawee “Koy” Kurasa, 23, asked that he apologize to her family in front of the media for punching her in the face after she lost at the Korean Open last week, according to Pimol Srivikorn, president of Taekwondo Association of Thailand.
“I’m hurt, not because I lost, but because I was punched by my coach,” Roongrawee wrote on Facebook, “What would my parents say about this? What if you had a child and this happened to her? I was punched, and my jaw is swollen. I can barely open my mouth.”
Coach Choi, who has trained Thailand’s Taekwondo national athletes for more than a decade, has reportedly skipped training sessions after Roongrawee’s press conference was held Tuesday in Bangkok after the team’s return from South Korea.
Roongrawee claims Coach Choi punched her after she lost 6-12 to South Korea on Friday because she arrived at the arena late due to miscommunication.
Roongrawee was told by the coach’s assistant that her competition was scheduled in the 12th match of Friday, but the staff came to escort her to the arena abruptly to compete in the 6th match.
At the end, Roongrawee did not get a chance to warm up, affecting her performance in the competition, Kapook reported.
Pimol Srivikorn, president of the Taekwando Association of Thailand, said Coach Choi has moved his family back to South Korea after the incident and didn’t board his scheduled flight back to Thailand today.
Pimol defended Choi, saying he hit the young woman “out of love.”
“We will try to talk to Coach Choi in the future to work with us no matter what it takes,” Pimol said. “He is a talented coach and has been a great asset. He’s our family.”
He added Coach Choi did punish Roongrawee by hitting her, according to witnesses, but it wasn’t severe as the athlete claimed. After all, Coach Choi did it out of love, he said.
Pimol also asked Roongrawee to consider if it was appropriate to ask the coach to apologize in public and suggested she’d be the first athlete Thailand doesn’t cheer for, Post Today reported.
Photo: Coach Choi FC
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