In what has been seen as a rare appreciation to his love for sports, the South Korean government has conferred the black belt degree in taekwondo to Mizoram chief minister Lal Thanhawla.
Master Lee Jeong Hee, a general sports manager under the embassy of Republic of Korea in Delhi conferred the honorary belt to 73-year oldchief minister on behalf of the Kukkiwon, World Taekwondo Federation.
It is significant that before Mr Lal Thanhawla, the federation had conferred this honorary degree to only one Indian — Shah Rukh Khan.
In an obvious attempt to promote taekwondo in India, the South Korean government however intends to confer honorary black belt to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi also.
Disclosing this to reporters at Aizawl, the renowned taekwondo teacher and sports manager of Korean embassy Master Lee Jeong Hee said,
“Mizos, who have similar physical features with Koreans, have the capabilities to be globally-known in this form of martial arts.”
Master Lee, a sixth-dan blackbelt in taekwondo, sent to promote taekwondo in India by World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and South Korea government, is in Mizoram to coach Mizo taekwondo fighters for six days, starting from Sunday.