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The 12th edition of the Mombasa Open Tong Il Moo-Do Martial Arts Championships has been postponed to this weekend running from August 31 to September 1 due to delays in the release of sponsorship funds by the government.

Speaking at the weekend in Mombasa, federation assistant secretary general Elvis Malipe mainatined that positive talks are ongoing with the new Sports CS Kipchumba Murkomen.

He assured fans of the much-anticipated tournament that the government is expected to come through.

“We had a meeting with Sports CS Kipchumba Murkomen, and he committed to supporting all federations that have been neglected before. We are hopeful he will change the narrative and start bringing us to the table, sharing the resources more fairly across all federations,” Malipe stated.

He added that the national team Jasiri is already in camp with 70 athletes ready to defend their title.

Kenya national team coach Ibrahim Mchumba stated that his team is in good shape to reign supreme once again, having a full squad for the last two weeks.

“We understand it will be a hard task to defend our title and continue our good run of the last 11 years. That’s why we are leaving nothing to chance in our preparation.”

“We thank the federation for their full support despite all the challenges, and now we are ready to go,” Mchumba added, noting that the extra time will allow them to polish their performance further.

“We are very happy to welcome all the teams to Mombasa, but they should be prepared to face the undisputed Kenyan team. We are looking forward to receiving the funds in time so that we can bring in the officials who are yet to arrive for the tournament. We also need to bring in critical equipment required for the event,” he concluded.

Tournament debutants from the USA are already in the country, intensifying their training, along with teams from Nigeria, Turkey and India, who have also arrived and are ready for the games.

It is now a race against time with more countries expected to arrive, as the Kenya Tong Il Moo-Do Federation awaits the much-needed finances to commence the Championships.