Moloisane has made a promising start to his quest for Tokyo 2020 qualification... |
Lesotho
taekwondo star Marumo Moloisane is looking forward to the future after winning
bronze at last month’s 2018 Austrian Open Tournament.
Moloisane, who
is based in Germany, finished third in the 58 kilogram competition at the championships
held in Innsbruck, Austria to jump-start his dreams of qualifying for the 2020
Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
The 24 years
old Khubetsoana born fighter is, of course, part of the IOC’s Olympic
Solidarity programme which assists elite athletes selected by their respective
National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in their preparations and qualification for
Olympic Games.
Moloisane was
one of six athletes chosen by the Lesotho National Olympic Committee (LNOC) last
year to prepare for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Thanks to the
scholarship, he is training at the renowned TCC Friedrichshafen
High-Performance Training Centre in Germany and will be based there until 2020.
Olympic athletes
Mosito Lehata and Tšepang Sello are also part of the Olympic Solidarity programme
and are based at the University of the Free State Sports Science Institute
(FSSSI) where they are rubbing shoulders with South African star Wade van
Niekerk who is the world 400 metres champion.
The other
athletes in the programme are Lerato Sechele (athletics), Moroke Mokhotho
(boxing) and Tumelo Makae (cycling) although all three are under domestic
placement and are training in Lesotho.
Moloisane at the TCC Centre in Germany |
Moloisane’s success
comes months after he started his Germany camp in December and it is a
promising sign.
He narrowly missed
the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil and expressed determination to avoid the
same fate in 2020.
Moloisane said
being based abroad will help.
“Being outside
the country helps me compete regularly against players from different countries
so there is no doubt that my international exposure will grow,” Moloisane said.
“Germany is a great
place for my career because it produces the best taekwondo athletes,” he added.
“Training outside the country is also preferable because when you are at home (in
Lesotho) it is not easy to attend (international) tournaments.”
Also important:
competing at international events such as the Austrian Open Tournament will
boost Moloisane’s ranking points.
Those points
will come in handy when World Taekwondo makes its final cut in 2020 for the 60
male fighters that will qualify for the taekwondo tournament at the Tokyo
Olympics.
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