Yamikani Guba opens 2024 taekwondo season with two gold medals
Taekwondo Master, Yamikani Guba, who was honoured with the accolade of 2023 Sportsman of the Year at the Malawi Sport Awards Gala on February 16, has rolled out the 2024 season with two gold medals attained over the weekend at the Army Open Championship in UK.
Guba, Malawi’s only heavyweight professional taekwondo athlete based in the UK who is serving in the British Army and fights for Army Taekwondo WT Team, won the gold medals in WT Poomsae Masters category and +87kgs kyorugi (fighting) at the championships held at the Army Combat Centre in Aldershot on Saturday.
He said these were the first championship games this year involving only military personnel and the next games are the Ultimate Open Championship to be held in Shelfield on March 10 and the University World Taekwondo Championships on March 23-24 at Nottingham University.
“It feels so good to start off with such a good performance,” he said. “I felt reinvigorated when I was recognised as the Sportsman of the Year by the Malawi Sport Awards.
“This year, I aim even higher, not just for the Malawi Sport Awards but to put Malawi on the world map in as far as taekwondo is concerned. Thanks so much to all who support me, especially the media who have exposed me to the Malawian audience,” said Guba, who holds a Malawian passport and has represented Malawi at international level
He was recognised by the selectors of the Malawi Sport Awards for winning 15 medals in 2023 of 6 gold medals, 6 silver and 3 bronze.
The gold medals he won in 2023 were Ultimate Taekwondo Championships in January; Midlands Open Taekwondo Championships in March; Army Open Taekwondo Championships also in March held at the Army Combat Centre in Aldershort in the Vets +87 category; Seniors at the Scottish Open Championships in September and Vets +87 category at the England Open Championships in November held at Leeds Beckett University.
The silver medals were at the 50th Anniversary Dutch Open Taekwondo Championships in March in Eindhoven in the Netherlands in March 23 which is used as the World Taekwondo Ranking event; at the Inter-Services Championships in June; at the European Masters Games 2023 held in Finland in July and Vets +87 category & Seniors at the Scottish Open Championships in September.
Guba was also nominated for the 2019 Malawi Sport Awards’ Sportsman of the Year alongside men’s footballer Gabadinho Mhango and women footballer Tabitha Chawinga but the award went to Tabitha.
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