THE National Taekwondo Federation has sent four players to compete at German and Dutch Open tournaments which will run from March 9 to 19. The four players include; Zura Mushambokazi [women bantamweight], Placide Bagabo [Men’s bantamweight], Ireene Bagire [women’s flyweight] and Boniface Mbonigaba [men’s lightweight].Head coach Martin Koonce told Times Sport that the aim of participating in the two tournaments is to help the players gain experience and exposure ahead of the World finals due to be held in Mexico later this year.“Our players lack the experience required to succeed at the international level, so the idea of taking part in these two tournaments in Europe is basically to help them engage elite players the World championships,” said Koonce.The four players were picked following their impressive performances in last month’s East African Taekwondo Championships held in Kigali.Bagabo won gold in men’s bantamweight; Mushambokazi won gold in women bantamweight but Mbonigaba and Bagire, despite not reaching the medal bracket, were selected based on their performances and exceptional skills in previous tournaments.
