Nduwamungu wins Genocide memorial fencing tourney

Patience Ndawumungu overwhelmed Ruben Donke to win the gold medal in this year’s Genocide memorial fencing tournament on Saturday at Amahoro National Stadium. Ndawumungu broke away in the first instance to stun Ruben Donke 15-1 points in the final that lasted 15 minutes to walk away with gold in the 4th edition of the competition held to honor those who passed away during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. To reach the final, Ndawumungu beat Richard Ruzigana 15-6 in the semi-final. Donke walked away with silver while Ruzigana took bronze. “Winning gold for the first time is a dream comes true, I am really excited. The other fencers were tough but I have managed to win probably because I had better preparations,” said Ndawumngu. However, the fight that thrilled the fans was the three minute contest between Ruben and Darcy Nyabangabo, which the former won by 15-13 points. Both fencers went head to head in the opening minute, however Ruben changed tactics by pushing forward and attacking more forcing Nyabangabo into defensive mode, which gave Ruben the opportunity to win. The men’s category had two pools of four fencers who faced each other in a round robin format to determine the best three while the women category had only three fencers. Tufaha Uwihoreye retained the title in the female category after overcoming Noel Ngabire 15-7, while Clementine Hakizimfura walked away with bronze. Rwanda Fencing Federation secretary general, Eric Kirezi said that, “Most of our fencers are students, so the timing for the competition was not right, nonetheless, the event has been a success thanks to the National Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Sports for sponsoring it.” Last year’s edition was won by Richard Ruzigana in the male category, however; he didn’t come to defend his title due to a shoulder injury. editorial@newtimes.co.rw