Sakis Pragalos, President von World Taewondo Europe, spricht in seiner Neujahrsrede für 2021 von der Hoffnung auf die verspäteten Olympischen Spiele in Tokio und dass er damit rechnet, dass sich in den nächsten Monaten die Situation auch für den Sport Taekwondo wieder normalisieren wird.
Hier die Neujahrsrede von WTE President Sakis Pragalos im Original:
Dear friends,
The past year has been one of the most difficult years we have seen in modern history.
Many people around the world has been suffering from the Corona COVID-19 virus. Also in Europe, many people face tragedy and dispair. It is my sincere hope that this new year will bring hope and prosperity to all mankind.
With great sadness we heard about the news of the passing of our good and beloved friend, General Ahmed Fouly. General Fouly was not only a good friend, but also an inspiring leader. Under his devoted leadership, Taekwondo in Afrika was not only flourishing but made also giant leaps forward. But above all, General Fouly was an amazing and loving family man. We all wish his wife, children and grandchildren strenght in these difficult times.
The previous year was also very challenging for our organization and our members. Our core business was all of a sudden stopped, our revenues evaporated and we had to rethink our strategy. From March on, our events were cancelled and only in November and December we were able to host events in compliance with health and safety precautions guaranteeing the safety of our athletes, coaches and officials.
With our motto “ Innovations in Motion”, our team developped online competitions and together with our elite athletes we offered our members activities in an online environment. Together with WT, we also were able to host multiple online educational courses for our coaches, referees and officials.
With the start of 2021, we are all looking forward to the Tokyo Olympic. With the vaccines been distributed all over the world, we hope that we can celebrate the Olympic Games in the upcoming summer. We have made all preparations to provide our athletes the best possible pathway to reach their Olympic dreams.
I am very proud that we have secured a place for our sport in the program of the 2023 European Games. This would never has been possible with the efforts of our Vice-president, Council members and Presidents. Their lobby with their contacts at the EOC and NOCs has brought us this amazing result. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all who helped us achieving this important milestone.
To all athletes, coaches, referees and officials I would like to say the following: stay positive for the future! We will continue to work for you, to provide you with the best events and education and we will create an atmosphere in which you can reach your goals and ambitions.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to dr. Choue for his visionary leadership in these difficult time. The ties between WT and WTE has never been stronger and for that I am very thankful.
Finally, I wish you and your love ones a loving, healthy and above all a successful 2021!
Yours,
Sakis Pragalos
