Africa-Press – Kenya. The national taekwondo team will next week begin training in earnest for the Botswana Open Championships in April in the wake of a poor display at the Turkey Open.
The team of four ladies and two men lost all their bouts in the Turkish city of Antalya and Kenya Taekwondo Federation secretary-general George Wesonga says the semi-residential training camp is meant to right their wrongs.
“We tried our best in Turkey but our performance was bad. We still lack agility and speed. Our players need to improve on speed and ring management and how to score points. These are the things we will work on as the team of 16 players report to camp next week at Talent Academy along Thika Road,” Wesonga said.
He added: “The good thing is that each of our athletes earned some ranking points, which will be helpful going forward. The Botswana tournament is quite important because it will be a launchpad for Africa Senior Championships in Rwanda.”
Wesonga further attributed Team Kenya’s abysmal performance to inadequate time for joint training.
“The players were training with their respective clubs and only had a few days to train together before the competition. Luckily, this time there is an organisation that has undertaken to cater for the costs of our training camp, which will allow for early preparations. We will be training from 9 a.m to 3 p.m,” he said.
The team, handled by stand-in coaches Eliakim Otieno and Nesmas Mbati, jetted into the country on Tuesday morning.
On the other hand, Wesonga lauded the national para taekwondo team, which clinched one silver and three bronze at the fifth Africa Para-Taekwondo Championships held in Niamey, Niger earlier this month.
“They were ‘green’ and making their debut in the championship but they really performed well. It shows the potential among the differently-abled athletes. I would like to appeal to as many as possible to join taekwondo to realise their talents. These include amputees as well as those who may have been affected by polio,” he said.
Apart from the continental showpiece in Rwanda, other tournaments on the federation’s agenda include the World Taekwondo Championships in Mexico in December this year as well as the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Wesonga added that KTF will undertake certification of coaches around the country to improve the standards of the game.
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