Taekwondo teams target medal haul at African Championships

RWANDA national taekwondo and para taekwondo teams will depart for Morocco on Saturday afternoon ahead of the 2018 African Taekwondo Championships. The continental championship will run from March 28-30 while the Para Taekwondo event, designed for players with physical disabilities and impairments, will get underway on March 31-April 1 in the coastal city of Agidir. Ranked 8th in Africa, according the latest World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) rankings, Rwanda will be seeking to improve on the performance from two years ago in Cairo, Egypt. The Para Taekwondo team will be hoping to successfully retain the continental title which Rwanda claimed last year in Kigali. At the Africa’s most prestigious taekwondo competitions, Rwanda will field a total 14 players, eight in the taekwondo and six in Para Taekwondo competitions. The team will be accompanied by four technical officials and Rwanda Taekwondo Federation boss Placide Bagabo as the head of delegation. However, Rwandan fighters will face stiff challenge from the hosts Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Gabon among other African top taekwondo playing nations. At the 2016 edition of African Championships, Rwanda won a total five medals, all bronze. The 2017 African Para Taekwondo Championship hosts, and then debutants, Rwanda finished top with a medal tally of six, including; 2 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medal, respectively. Full Teams Taekwondo: Benoit Kayitare (captain), Savio Nizeyimana, Vincent Munyakazi, Moussa Twizeymana, Delphine Uwababyeyi, Raissa Umurerwa, Aline Ndacyayisenga and Benise Uwase Para Taekwondo: Jean de la Croix Nikwigize, Consolee Rukundo, Jean Claude Niringiyimana, Jean Marie Vianney Bizumuremyi, Parfait Hakizimana and Jean Pierre Manirakiza editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Taekwondo teams target medal haul at African Championships