Bronze medallists at the All African Games, Benjamin Okuomose and Elizabeth Anyanacho, have expressed their delight at winning bronze medals and gaining critical experience at the just concluded World Taekwondo ranked Fujairah Open in UAE, which held 21 January to 2 February 2020.

To win the bronze in the female -67kg category, Nigeria’s Elizabeth Anyanacho defeated double Asian Games Bronze Medallist, Tajikistan’s Mokhru Khalimova 3 – 0 in the quarterfinals, before losing 8 – 11 in the semi-finals to the number one seed, Jordan’s Al-Sadeq Julyan.

In the male +87kg category, Nigeria’s Benjamin Okuomose clinched Africa’s third medal and Nigeria’s second by defeating Russia’s Gabrasov Pabel 30 – 10 and UAE’s Amidu Amidu 36 – 11 before losing 27 – 32 to eventual gold medallist, Mexico’s Carlos Adrian Sansores.

For Benjamin Okuomose, the experience was an eye opener.

“I gained very important experience. I have to think more in the ring to complement my power and strength. With the aid of the coaching crew, we will go back and improving my tactical depth.”

For Elizabeth Anyanacho, it was painful to lose at the last second and she has learnt from the experience.

“I was in control of the match until I lost a little focus at the last 10 seconds. My opponent was very experienced and that made all the difference. I will work on keeping on focus and intensity for 100% of the match.”

The bronze medals won by the duo were only two of three medals won by African teams at the event, with Kenya’s Faith Ogallo picking up a silver medal

There were 10 registered athletes from African countries, including Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Chad, Kenya, Sudan, Cameroon and Benin Republic.