Rwanda’s international Taekwondo star, Savio Nizeyimana has been tipped to shine at the LOTTO Dutch Open Taekwondo Championships slated for March 14-15 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Team Rwanda comprised of six athletes, five men and one female, will set-off for the Netherlands this evening at 6pm aboard Kenya Airways and will return on March 16. The 42nd edition of Lotto Dutch Open is the only competition in Europe with a G2 ranking. This system means that winning one match at this prestigious meet earns martial artist two slots in the World Taekwondo Association (WTA) rankings. In the meantime, the 25-year-old Zura Mushambokazi has pulled out of the two-day world class competition due to ankle injury. The development was confirmed by team head coach Alain Irene Bagire on Wednesday. “Mushambokazi won’t be traveling with us, we had hoped her injury would get better in reasonable time but things didn’t go accordingly. She still needs time to recover,” Bagire told Times Sport. When asked about who does he tick for an impressive performance in Netherlands, Bagire told this paper that all the six (players) are in good form and are capable of putting up a good showing but tipped Nizeyimana to reach the furthest. The Black belt- second Dan holder, Nizeyimana combats in the Men’s 68kgs category and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of this year’s Gorilla Open held over the weekend at Amahoro stadium. Placide Bagabo, who holds black belt-Third Dan, will captain the team. The 33-year-old elite also doubles as local taekwondo federation’s secretary general. Full team Men: Martin Nduwayezu (54kgs), Regis Iyumva (58kgs), Placide Bagabo (63kgs), Savio Nizeyimana (68kgs) and Eric Nkurunziza in 80kg category. Female: Delphine Uwababyeyi (46kgs). editorial@newtimes.co.rw
