A ZIMBABWE taekwondo team is in South Africa for the Gauteng Open tournament which begins today in Primrose. The Zimbabwean team, from the International Taekwondo Academy in Harare, returns to South Africa after their impressive showing on their last visit there in August, where they hauled eight medals in the South Africa Open.Coach Evan Brown said he expected the team to bring back more medals as the Gauteng tournament would not be as tough as the very competitive SA Open.“I am confident that the youngsters will produce good results,” he said. “I also trust that they will compete at their maximum ability to raise the Zimbabwean flag high. I hope it will be another big step in our efforts to develop the sport in Zimbabwe and the region as a whole.”He singled out Kudakwashe Mundove as the major medal hopeful after he brought home two gold medals in August.“I have a team of nine youngsters, seven girls and two boys,” he said. “There are two categories in the tournament; that is the juniors category, which has youngsters from ages of 13 to 18, and the Tigers category which has youngsters from 12 down to toddlers.”Brown said of the domestic season: “It’s been alright. People are interested, we would have had more people joining the sport had it not been for the current economic hardships. We’ve had our ups and downs but we are doing quite well.”
Squad:Elizabeth Tugwete, Khanyisile Chiganze, Gamuchirai Chifamba, Vannessa Dzoro, Cleopatra Saira and Gugulethu Siziba (All junior women)Kudakwashe Kunira, Kudakwashe Mundove (Tiger boys)Michelle Chamunyanga (Tiger girl).
