Featured image: World Taekwondo Championships screenshot
The Liberia Taekwondo Federation (LTF) is a Go Team Liberia Sports United partner. GTL offers administrative support and up to $500 USD financial aid to organizations in this program.
Last month, the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships came to an end. The match, which lasted from October 24-30, took place in Wuxi, China. It had over 1,850 registered participants, and Liberia sent one competitor — 21-year-old Derrick Swaray.
Swaray represented Liberia in the male -63kg category, after qualifying through a justification process organized by the Liberia Taekwondo Federation. He did not advance past his first match, but received praise from LTF officials for his impressive first-time performance.
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Meet the athlete who represented Liberia at the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships
Swaray is a sophomore college student studying information technology at Starz University. He has a first degree black belt and told GTL that he started practicing Taekwondo when he was 15.
The 2025 World Taekwondo Championship was his first major competition, and Liberia’s first time returning to the tournament since 2022, where the country’s representative was disqualified.
“It was an incredible honor to represent Liberia on the world stage again, after such a long break,” Swaray said. “‘Stepping onto the mat, I felt the weight and the pride of my country on my shoulders.”
The young athlete also runs his own Taekwondo classes.
Liberia’s 2025 World Taekwondo Championship results
On day two, Liberia competed against Macau, a special administrative region of China. In that match, Swaray lost to Macau’s Mun chok Lam 3-8, in the first round, and 2-14, in the second round. The match was best out of three rounds.
Despite the loss, LTF’s president, Master Junior Pewee Russian, expressed excitement in the performance and progress.
“Looking at where we come from, especially when it comes to the training of new breed of athletes, I can definitely say that our athlete did his best.”
Russian attended the match after participating in the World Taekwondo General Assembly meeting, where all taekwondo federations gather annually to discuss important matters.
Watch Liberia take on Macau
GTL also spoke with Dennis Paul, one of Liberia Taekwondo’s four national team coaches. He coached Swaray during the match and reiterated that the athlete’s performance was impressive for a first-timer.
“It wasn’t easy. He’s Liberia going against China. It was not a simple task,” Paul said.
Paul noted that Swaray’s competitor had more experience competing at championships. Still, Paul emphasized that he sees potential for Swaray and other Liberian Taekwondo athletes to improve and even win in these tournaments.
Video caption: Liberia in blue, Macau in red.
What’s next for Liberia Taekwondo
The Liberia Taekwondo Federation is gearing up for its national competition with dates to be determined. In the meantime, Swaray is preparing to represent Liberia at the inaugural World Taekwondo U-21 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya from December 3-6.
In his post match interview, Swaray shared that he hopes for he and his peers to be given more opportunities, better training, and improved facilities.
“Taekwondo is more than a sport” Swaray said. “It’s discipline, respect, and pride. If we come together as a nation to support this sport, we can raise champions, we can unite communities and show the world the strength of Liberia.”
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