Two Kenyan taekwondo players bow out of the ongoing International University Sports Federation (FISU) the World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany.
Competing in finweight, Haji Ombayo Okwato lost to Germany international Mirza Takrim in the under 54kg battle before Stacy Alice Dock to Ukrainian Kostenevych Daria in the featherweight category.
Okwato from the United States International University (USIU) lost the first round 5 points to 4 before going down 21 to 18 points in the second round to bow out.
Alice from Kenya University (KU) lost to identical 4-0 to the Ukrainian in all two rounds.
Taekwondo head coach Peter Miringu attributed the loss to the new technology that they only encountered while at the championships.
“As team Kenya, especially Taekwondo, we were well prepared for these games but to our surprise we found new systems here that we have never encountered back not just in Kenya but across Africa,” said Miringu, the black belter.
He said that the use of such electronics were very new and used in the European nations only.
“Such equipment are not in Africa but the system are used European countries use than us. We got them for the first time, giving us too much challenge that we could not handle,” he added.
He said that they are lagging behind in technology, which is the future in the sporting world.
“We are so behind with the systems. We need these equipment as early as possible but the championships are going own well with great organization,” he said.
Tomorrow, Sunday July 20th, Captain Selina Zenna Mwechade will be in action against Croatian Keplac n Croatia.