The national taekwondo team debut at this year’s World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) Junior Championships ended in a pretty unceremonious style after none of the country’s representatives went past the first elimination round.

The international biennial event was hosted in Burnaby City of British Columbia, from November 16-20, attracting about 100 countries with debutants Rwanda sending a team of three – two boys and one girl.

The three players that carried Rwanda’s flag included Vincent Munyakazi, 17 (U-63kg), Benon Kayitare, 17 (U-51kg) and Laisa Umurerwa, 16, who competed in the U-49kg category.

The championship was played under a single elimination format with the trio facing an early exit in their first matches.

Munyakazi was knocked out by his fellow junior from Finland while Kayitare could not overcome a Spanish opponent, with Umurerwa bowing out after a knockout by a Slovakian player.

Speaking to Times Sport in a phone interview from Canada, the national team manager, Placide Bagabo, said the team’s poor performance was mainly due to lack of international experience by the local juniors. However, he noted that this experience served as a wakeup call.

He attributed the poor performance to lack of experience and confidence.

"Kayitare played well but he lost because of lack of match management skills, while Munyakazi tried his best but the problem was lack of confidence; for Umurerwa, she could not overcome her naivety and consequently ended up failing to do what she had always been doing,” he added.

The team was using the event as a platform to gain more international experience as they seek to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw