It started off as a hobby three years ago to relieve stress and better protect herself.
But 14-year-old Caroline Chisholm Catholic College student Jasmine Khong’s passion for taekwondo has taken her to the top 10 of international competition.
Jasmine says she followed a friend into the sport as a way of empowering herself.
“I was scared to go out,” she says. “It [taekwondo] was something to help defend myself. Society is really scary at the moment, so this was a way of overcoming my fears … Taekwondo was a great stress reliever.”
The sport has been a natural fit for Jasmine, who finished ninth in the WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships recently in Lima, Peru, where she exhibited her top-shelf techniques in the under 12 to 14 division.
“To go to Peru was a big achievement enough,” she says. “I didn’t know I could do such things. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was my dream to watch the Olympics, now I want to participate.”
Jasmine has grown to love her sport so much, she practices everywhere, even in supermarket aisles.
“Mum doesn’t hand me any shopping bags because I’m usually practising my moves.”
