Leemisa Thuseho
ONE of Lesotho’s top athletes Marumo Moloisane is worried about his taekwondo career after his Olympic Solidarity Athletes Scholarship ended last month.
Apart from the expiration of the scholarship, Moloisane suffered a knee injury during a training ahead of the Africa Games that were held in Rabat, Morocco in August last year. He therefore, sees the injury posing a threat to his career.
Since 2017, Moloisane has been at the Taekwondo Competence Centre (TCC) in Germany preparing for the now postponed Tokyo Olympics.
After failing to qualify for the Olympics, the Lesotho National Olympic Committee (LNOC) resolved not to renew his scholarship.
Moloisane’s last hope was a tripartite place but his weight category has been taken by a Japanese athlete.
The other athletes who are under the scholarship are Mosito Lehata, Lerato Sechele, Tšepang Sello (all from athletics), Moroke Mokhotho (Boxing) and Tumelo Makae (cycling). Their scholarships end after the Olympics next year.
Moloisane told the Sunday Express from Germany on Friday that he last competed in Morocco last year and he is unsure whether his injury will allow him to compete. He is however, worried that the injury will shorten his career.
“I have been nursing the injury during the lockdown and when competitions resume, I think I will be in a good condition to test the leg.
“It is clear that after this long break, I will have to start slowly in less competitive outings, just to test the injury.”
This is the second time for Moloisane to miss the Olympics. The first time was in 2016 when he failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics after failing to earn his qualification at the African Olympic Qualification Tournament in Agadir, Morocco.
But the injury is making it difficult for him to start thinking of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“I can’t even talk about 2024 Olympics before I know the status of the injury.”
After his scholarship ended last month, he has been praying for a sponsor to help him remain in Germany and improve his career or even try his hand at coaching.
“I wanted to stay in Germany because the standards are high here compared to Lesotho. It is also difficult to attend competitions when I return home. After leaving competitive taekwondo, I want to become a coach as that will give me opportunity to help my country perform well at the international level,” Moloisane said.
Although he failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, he said his four-year stay in Germany contributed a lot to his career.
“The scholarship helped me because I was able to go for competitions momthly which helped me grow. I now understand the sport better,” he added.
LNOC high-performance coordinator Likeleko Lepitla told this publication that processes of bringing Moloisane back home have already started.