Moorosi Tsiane
A three-member team left Lesotho on Wednesday for the World Taekwondo Championship to be held in Russia from 12- 18 May.
According to Lesotho Taekwondo Association public relations officer, Likhama Leuta, the three are Lebohang Motumi, Mahloane Mahloane and Moloisane Marumo.
Leuta said the all-male team had two months preparations for the tournament, hence his confidence the athletes would do well in Moscow.
“We have a coach from South Korea who arrived in the country shortly after the (28 February 2015) elections. He has been working with the three since then, which helped them thoroughly prepare for the tournament. I know competing in international championships is no child’s play, but as an association, we are confident these warriors will fight tooth and nail to bring some medals home,” Leuta said.
“Again, only Motumi will be making his international debut, while the other two are quite experienced which is another reason for this optimism.”
Leuta further said Lesotho must return to the glory days of the 1990s when its athletes used to be a taekwondo force.
“Lesotho has to be a force once again when it comes to taekwondo. We used to be very dominant in the sport, but the situation deteriorated over the years. However, we are leaving no stone unturned to ensure we return to our glory days.”
According to Leuta, the coach had been very impressed with the three athletes.
“The coach said he was impressed with the three, while also noting there was still room for improvement. Our main target after the Russia tournament will be to assemble a very strong squad for the All-Africa Games to be held in Congo-Brazzaville in September this year, as well as next year’s Olympics in Brazil.”