This archive report was first published on 29 August 2019.
Published on August 29, 2019, Kenya made a strong start at the 2019 World Martial Arts Mastership Championship in South Korea, securing two gold and two bronze medals on the first day of the tournament.
Kenyan athletes excelled in various events, with Gordon Ochieng emerging victorious in the men's sparring +90kg category, defeating Korea's Ki Hoon Lee 3-2. Lona Apiyo Abiero also won the women's -65kg category, beating Thailand's Nattakarn Khamsopmpond 5-4.
Patricia Lucky and Peter James Njuguna secured bronze medals in the women's sparring -50kg and men's sparring -90kg events, respectively. Lucky lost to Unjung Ai Moonville Estarabela of the Philippines 8-0, while Njuguna was defeated by Iran's Mohammadreza Dolatiyan 7-3.
According to Gordon Ochieng, he trained hard for the championship and was motivated by President Uhuru Kenyatta's visit to State House. Ochieng said, 'I slept very late on Wednesday night and woke up early morning of the event day on Thursday thinking on how I’ll make sure I give my fellow Kenyans back home a gold medal.'
Lona Apiyo Abiero, the 26-year-old gold medalist, expressed her happiness at winning a gold medal for her country. She said, 'I’m so happy to have won my country a gold medal and I’m sure we’ll finish this championship in a respectable position. I was thinking of making 40 million Kenyans back home happy.'
