Leemisa Thuseho
GERMANY based taekwondo star, Michelle Tau, has once again hoisted the Lesotho flag by winning a bronze medal at the 12th edition of the African Taekwondo Championship in Dakar, Senegal on 5 and 6 June 2021.
Tau was the only Lesotho athletes at the event. The event also marked her first contest this year. She had last competed last November during the European Clubs Championships where she won silver.
Tau told the Lesotho Times this week that she was thankful to have won a medal even though she was targeting the first place.
“I am thankful although I had a different goal,” Tau said.
However, she is confident that she is on the right track given that she has been away from competitive taekwondo for over six months.
“Given the current situation, I think I am still on the right track and see where I went wrong and fix that.
“It was not an easy competition and it did not work out as I had planned. Maybe it’s because I was rusty.”
Tau is now targeting the World Championships to be held in Wuxi, China in October but is hoping to attend some open tournaments before then.
Since her arrival in Germany in 2019, Tau has won a gold medals at the 2019 and 2020 Creti Cup, two gold medals at the 2019 Baden Wurttemberg, silver medals at the 2019 Africa Games and Croatia Open. Last year, she went on to win bronze medals at Germany and Dutch Open events.
Lesotho Taekwondo Association (LTA) public relations officer Molikoe Sek’hok’he congratulated Tau whom he said had a neck for bringing in medals when it mattered most.
“We are thankful for the medal. Her performance says she is in form regardless of the long Covid-19 lay-off,” Sek’hok’he said.
Meanwhile, Lesotho’s top taekwondo referee Moshoeshoe Molapo was named the best Africa referee during the Africa Championships.
