BENON KAYITARE, the national taekwondo team captain, will be looking for gold medal at the 2019 World Taekwondo Championships, slated for May 15-19 in Manchester, England.

On Sunday, the team trio of skipper Benon Kayitare (-54kg), Jean Paul Sekanyambo (-58kg) and Vincent Munyakazi (-68kg category), won gold medal in Mombasa ahead of Chairman’s cup Taekwondo Championships. 

Kayitare told Times Sport that after striking winning gold in Kenya, the team will now shift their attention to World Taekwondo Championships where they also want to win medals.

"I want to win gold in Manchester and to gain valuable experience since I will be playing against some of the best players in the world,” said a confident Kayitare in an exclusive interview. "I have been improving and my confidence has gone up, which is very crucial at this point,” he added.

In 2015, Kayitare was part of Team Rwanda that competed at the WTF Word Cup in South Korea where he scooped a bronze medal in individual demonstrations competition in junior category. That’s the same year he won gold at the Kenya Open.

The following year, he participated at the WTF Junior World Cup in Burnaby City, Canada, where he finished in the eighth position.

Kayitare was promoted to the senior national team in 2017 and has been improving since.

On his debut in senior competitions, he staged a stunning performance to win gold in the Genocide Memorial Tournament – and was voted the MVP of the competition. 

Mid-2017 season, Kayitare was part of a 14-player Rwandan team that featured in Uganda Ambassador’s Cup where won seven medals, including his gold medal.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com