EPC tournament director Jeroen Straathof wants to see more participation in Para taekwondo in The Netherlands ©EPC

Jeroen Straathof, tournament director of the European Para Championships, has issued a "call for action" to increase the participation of Para taekwondo in The Netherlands after the country failed to field a single athlete here.

Para taekwondo is the only one of the 10 sports featuring at the inaugural EPC where the host nation is not represented.

The Netherlands moved to the top of the medals table having secured all six wheelchair tennis titles and won three boccia golds over the past two days.

They are also favourites to win the women’s basketball crown as the defending Paralympic champions.

But there will be no local interest in Para taekwondo which got underway today and will be the focus for the next two days.

Straathof insists that The Netherlands’ no-show in the sport underlines why the country needs to address the lack of elite Para taekwondo fighters.

The Netherlands has failed to field a single Para taekwondo fighter in the competition at the European Para Championships ©EPC
The Netherlands has failed to field a single Para taekwondo fighter in the competition at the European Para Championships ©EPC

"We are lucky in The Netherlands with the good news in wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis players where there are Paralympic gold medal winners," Straathof told insidethegames.

"I think that’s the opportunity for all other sports [to reach].

"For instance there is no taekwondo athlete from The Netherlands here so we don’t have the international level participating at a European Championships.

"I hope as a tournament director that the National Federation of The Netherlands looks at why we don’t even have one athlete here.

"By bringing Para sports together, we can show The Netherlands and the National Federations how international Para sports are developing.

"We open eyes."

Paralympic wheelchair tennis champion Diede de Groot is one of the Dutch stars on show in Rotterdam ©EPC
Paralympic wheelchair tennis champion Diede de Groot is one of the Dutch stars on show in Rotterdam ©EPC

The Netherlands has a strong history in Para sport having participated in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since the inaugural event in 1960, while the Dutch city of Arnhem played host to the Games in 1980.

It is ranked eighth in the all-time medals table having claimed a total of 808 medals, with 59 of those coming at Tokyo 2020.

"The Netherlands is well organised in Para sport," said Straathof, who piloted visually impaired Jan Mulder to Paralympic gold at Sydney 2000 after switching from speed skating to cycling.

"We have a good infrastructure on paper so a lot of people with a handicap can do sports but we still need to do more and organising this is a way of showing what can be done.

"If you are willing and able to do the sport you like and there is no club where you can do taekwondo when you have a handicap then it is difficult.

"We need to make a call for action for everyone to say that if you have a handicap go to the taekwondo club and tell them I would like to do taekwondo instead of waiting for them to organise it and step in."