In pursuit to amass Olympics qualification points
TLOTLO KEBINAKGABO
Local Taekwondo sensation Karabo Kula yesterday (Monday) jetted off to Las Vegas, United States of America (USA) in her pursuit to amass qualification points for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
This is the athlete that attained a historic feat at the African Games which were held in Morocco two months back after being the first taekwondo fighter from the country to win a medal at the African Games ever since they were incepted in 1965. She also became the first Motswana aged 16 to win a medal at the competition which is held every four years.
Now, Kula has left for Las Vegas for the Pan America Region- World Taekwondo – G-2 Championship that will take place from the 10th and the 13th of this month. She will join her other team mates in Ernest Samotshozo and Wardell Samatshozo who left late last month for training.
“The other guys have been in a training camp in USA so we will be joining them for the championships,” said Kula’s personal coach who also drills the national team Gladys Njoroge in an interview with Gazette Sport yesterday (Monday). “ The aim of this competition is for our athletes to accumulate points for better seeding at the Africa Olympic qualifiers.” The Africa Taekwondo Olympic qualifiers are billed for Morocco next year February.
For her part, Botswana Taekwondo Federation vice president Celia Chikaonda told this publication that they sent the athletes to USA as they seriously want representation at the Olympics. “So these championships will mentally and physically prepare them for the qualifiers and put them in a better place to qualify, “ she said in a brief interview with Gazette Sport.