Africa-Press – Lesotho. Taekwondo Marshall Arts vice-president Teboho Masaile has lauded Lesotho’s performance at the second Bulpae Best of the Best Taekwondo Tournament held last weekend in Germiston, South Africa.
The team won six gold, four silver and five bronze medals to finish second in the final standings of the championship hosted by the Bulpae ITF Taekwondo Academy.
The tournament featured nine of South Africa’s ten provinces with Lesotho as a guest team. Lesotho’s team consisted of juniors and seniors. The juniors were Katleho Moleka, 10, Billy Sello, 11, Khiba Mohapi, 12, and Khethisa Molapo 10.
The senior team was made up of Kefuoe Nketle, Shale Majara, Maoe Mokoaqoa, Bongani Tshabalala, Makhotla Khoale, Lebenya Moalosi, captain Retšelisitsoe Makoaela and instructor Nthethe Masaile.
“I am very happy for the team that represented the country against the nine provinces from South Africa,” Masaile said at a welcoming conference on Tuesday.
“It was not easy because they already knew us. They already knew our strengths and we were paired against their best players but we worked hard.
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He continued: “I would also like to thank the businesses that lent us a helping hand before our trip to South Africa as we did not have anything.
We also urge the business community to help the team. In terms of time, we should start preparing for tournaments now just so that we don’t panic when it is time to participate.
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Speaking on behalf of the team, captain Makoaela said the majority of the squad did not have time to sufficiently prepare for the tournament because of their jobs.
The Taekwondo Marshall (sic) Arts team is run by the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) but is also open to members of the public. “We did not have enough time to prepare for the tournament because of our jobs,” Makoaela said.
“We left here at night while we had to fight the next day, so we really never had time to rest before our fights.
However, we wanted to make the country proud and we worked hard for this. ”
He added: “Our main challenge is time. We urge to be given enough time to prepare, this will help us put the kids together and train them.
On the other hand, this is part of preventing criminal acts as this is the main purpose of the LMPS. ”
Makoaela also pleaded with the team’s management to take the Taekwondo Marshall Arts programme to other districts in Lesotho.
“We also need equipment for training,” he added.
“Time is also our main challenge. We would like to the team to be expanded to the other districts throughout the country and have members of the LMPS train kids.”
