The national taekwondo team has turned their focus on the upcoming 11th edition of the All Africa Games scheduled for September 4-19 in Congo Brazzaville. Following their recent participation at the World Taekwondo Championships in Russia, Team Rwanda has already started training for the quadrennial event where they will be making a debut appearance. “We have started our preparations early because we will be competing at this level for the first time. We want to win medals and we are capable of doing so, we are investing time, hard work and determination for this cause,” explained Placide Bagabo, Rwanda Taekwondo Federation (RTF) secretary general. Rwanda will send a 12-member team comprising of eight men and four women and according to Bagabo, winning medals and qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil is their main target. At this year’s World Championships, Rwanda was marking its second appearance following the 2013 debut in Mexico. Team Rwanda had quite a rough competition but finished among Africa’s top ranked nations, possibly among top three according to Bagabo. Rwanda was represented by six elite martial fighters, four men and two women. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
