Miss USA Nia Sanchez named Taekwondo ambassador

2014 Miss USA Nia Sanchez, 25, was named a global Taekwondo ambassador by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF).

The federation held an appointment ceremony at its Seoul headquarters on Monday where the WTF President Cho Jeong-won attended. Sanchez, who began practicing Taekwondo when she was eight, holds a fourth-degree black belt in the Korean martial art and is a certified Taekwondo instructor. Her parents are running a Taekwondo gym in the U.S.

“I`ve learned self-confidence and discipline from Taekwondo that I began practicing in my childhood," the beauty pageant queen said. "I will contribute to share taekwondo with the rest of the world and enhance the reputation of the WTF. If there is an opportunity, I’d like to learn Taekwondo in Korea."

Sanchez will attend the opening ceremony of the 2015 World Taekwondo Hanmadang in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday and head back home on Saturday.

wing@donga.com