Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Daily Nation
Published on 2024-02-02 13:01:17
The Kenya Taekwondo Federation (KTF) is seeking funding from the government for the 2024 African Taekwondo Olympics Qualification Tournament. The Ministry of Sports has declined to fund the team of 11 players and four officials for the Continental Qualification Tournament scheduled for February 10-11 in Senegal. The team has been training at the Police Pavilion in South C, Nairobi.
Suleiman Sumba, the president of KTF, expressed disappointment at the Ministry’s decision and has appealed to the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) for assistance. He noted that the Ministry’s new regulations, requiring budgets to be submitted six months before the event, pose a challenge as most invitations are received less than six months before the event. Despite this, Sumba highlighted that the budget for the event had been approved at all levels last year but was declined following the introduction of the new regulations by the Ministry.
The exponents bound for Senegal include Faith Ogallo, who qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Games after winning silver in Heavyweight at the 2019 African Games in Morocco. Other athletes striving for Olympic qualification include Jully Musangi, Moses Obara, and Innocent Wafula, who are under the guidance of coach Linus Marangu. The competition for qualification is intense, with only the top two players in each weight category securing a spot at the Olympics.
While there were no national trials for the able-bodied athletes, Ogallo, Musangi, and Sharon Wakoli were selected based on their performance and were sponsored by the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) for preparation for the Olympics. They underwent training in various countries, gearing up for the Olympic qualifiers. The team manager for the para taekwondo athletes is Suleiman Sumba, and the athletes selected for the Paralympic Games include Stency Neema, Julieta Lemuge, Linda Ogeto, Patrick Lolkalepi, Peter Kabani, Joseph Owino, and Alphonce Maripet.
The para athletes were selected in July last year and have been training in preparation for the Paralympic Games slated for August 28 to September 8 in Paris.
Sumba hopes that the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) will provide assistance to the athletes, as the KTF continues to appeal to the Ministry for funding. The KTF is committed to supporting its athletes as they strive for Olympic and Paralympic qualification.
Read the original article on Daily Nation
