THE Zimbabwe Taekwondo Federation will send two athletes to next month’s Taekwondo World Championships scheduled for Russia. National team coach Peter Ndaona Kembo told NewsDay Sport
that the country would be represented by heavyweight Philip Rufasha and flyweight Phineas Dzingi at the tournament which is held every two years by the World Taekwondo Federation.
BY SAKHELENI NXUMALO
“We had plans to send a total of six athletes, but due to financial constraints we had to cut that number down to two,” Kembo said.
“The idea was to send members of the team that will take part in the All-Africa Games set for September in Congo Brazzaville to next month’s world championships in Russia, but the reality is that we can only afford to send two.”
Those who will miss out include Spencer Kondo, Fungai Magomera, Basil Makamha and Admire Tshitshiliza. Rufasha and Dzingi justified their selection for the world championships by winning gold medals at the recent Korea Ambassador Taekwondo Championships held over the weekend at Prince Edward in Harare.
Harare province was the overall winner at the tournament after winning four gold medals, 15 silver and seven bronze medals. Mashonaland East came second with two gold medals, four silver and two bronze medals while the Midlands came third with two gold and one silver medal.
Bulawayo province finished with one gold and four silver medals while team Mozambique won one gold, two silver and three bronze medals.
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Assistant national team coach Langton Chokuenda, who is also a member of the National Taekwondo Association’s technical team, described the tournament as a success.
“The whole event was a success and we are very happy with the performance of our athletes, considering that we were using these games as preparation for the World Championships as well as the All-Africa Games,” Chokuenda said.
