Police Taekwondo Club retains National Open Championship title

Police Taekwondo Club emerged as the overall winner of the 2025 National Open Taekwondo Championship after collecting 14 gold, 8 silver, and 10 bronze medals during the three-day event held at Lugogo Indoor Arena, which concluded on Sunday.

This victory marked a successful title defence for Police, who also won the national accolade last year.

Out of the 16 clubs that participated, teams from the security forces dominated both competition categories: Poomsae—which involves martial arts patterns and demonstrations—and Kyorugi, the full-contact sparring segment.

Police team captain Rebecca Among attributed their success to hard work and strong management support.

Abdul Obedi (left) of Police Taekwondo Club blocks a kick from Peter Okello in the semi-final of the 2025 National Open Chamionship at Lugogo Idoor Arena. Photo: Silvano Kibuuka

“It was challenging because we didn’t have our junior team—only the seniors competed. But we won the men’s category and finished second in the women’s to clinch the overall title. We defended it, and we promise to retain it again next year,” Among said.

The victory continues a strong run for Police Taekwondo Club, who also claimed bronze at the East African Police Forces Taekwondo Championship in Ethiopia this past April.

This year’s National Open also served as a selection ground for athletes who will represent Uganda at the Korean Ambassadors Cup, set for November at Lugogo.

In the men's category, Police finished first, followed by CSCA and the Makerere-UPDF team. The UPDF dominated the women’s fights but finished third overall.

In the Poomsae category, Makerere University topped with four gold medals, followed by Police with three, and Prisons in third with one.

Assistant General Secretary Peter Malavu praised the quality of competition, which began with a referee seminar and drew participants from across the country.

“We had 224 participants—men and women—from 16 clubs. The performance was impressive, and we will be selecting players for the national team to compete in the East African and Zone 5 Championships,” Malavu stated.

AIGP Hadija Namutebi, in charge of welfare, operations, and sports at Uganda Police, presided over the awards ceremony and handed accolades to the winners.