Sunday 4th November 2007
The WTF African Taekwondo Qualification Tournament concluded in Tripoli, Libya on Nov. 2, 2007. South Africa's Fighters Duncan Mahlangu -68kg, Anelle Steyn -67kg and Alpheus Mokoena -58kg, did not qualify. No protest was lodged during the two-day event.
Morocco earned three berths for the taekwondo competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games after the two-daye WTF African Taekwondo Qualification Tournament.
Kenya, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire clinched two places each for the Beijing Olympic Games through the African Qualification Tournament, which took place at the African Union Hall in downtown Tripoli. The tournament drew 77 players from 26 countries, with the attendance of 22 international referees.
Seven other countries won one ticket each for the 2008 Olympic Games. They are Gabon, Benin, Libya, Guinea, Senegal, Tunisia and Egypt.
The final day of the African qualification tournament featured four weight categories -- the men’s -58kg and -80kg and the women’s -57kg and -49kg.
In the men’s -58kg category, Kenya’s Dickson Wamwiri Wanjiku placed first, while Benin’s Ogoudjobi Jean Moloise placed second.
In the men’s -80kg category, Cote d'Ivoire’s Nguessan Sebastien Konan placed first, while Gabon’s Lioner Bagule placed second, earning their countries a berth each for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
In the women’s -57kg division, Cote d'Ivoire’s Mariam Bah placed first, while Senegal’s Bineta Diedhiou placed second.
In the women’s -49kg division, Kenya’s Milka Akinyi placed first, while Morocco’s Ghizlane Toudali placed second.
A total of 128 athletes are to compete in the taekwondo competition of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Through the WTF African Taekwondo Qualification Tournament, the top two athletes from each of the eight Olympic weight categories, totaling 16, qualify their national Olympic committees to compete in the taekwondo competition at the 2008 Olympic Games.
The immediate continental qualification tournament is the WTF Asian Taekwondo Qualification Tournament scheduled for Nov. 28-30 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The Oceania qualification is slated for Dec. 1 in New Caledonia; the Pan-American qualification on Dec. 8-9 in Cali, Colombia; and the European qualification on Jan. 26-27, 2008 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Richard Bach
“That's what learning is, after all; not whether we lose the game, but how we lose and how we've changed because of it and what we take away from it that we never had before, to apply to other games. Losing, in a curious way, is winning.”
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