All systems go as Lesotho’s taekwondo star eyes first fight at the Olympics

PARIS, FRANCE, August 1, 2024… As she eagerly awaits her first fight at the Olympics on Wednesday 7th August, taekwondo athlete Michelle Tau has appreciated Mchezo’s support towards her journey to the prestigious games. 

Tau, who terms taekwondo as a family sport, has made a name for herself by being the first taekwondo representative from her country Lesotho to qualify for the Olympics in 20 years.  Her father John Tau, who passed away when she was young,  was a national taekwondo legend. 

The former beauty queen said she is upbeat after months of training, aiming to earn a medal in Paris. 

“Everything is possible but it has not been easy to get to the Olympics. It requires a lot of sacrifices but with determination, dedication, prayer and good support, everything is possible,” noted Tau. 

Mchezo, a Rwanda-based company which states one of its aims as ‘investing in the future of sport and technology in Africa’, has worked in partnership with the government of Lesotho in supporting Tau as she prepared to qualify for the Olympics. 

Mchezo helped Tau to attend top taekwondo training centres and programmes in Germany and Spain soon after she qualified for the Olympics in the women’s under 49 kg category.

Tau achieved the milestone through winning at the African Qualifying tournament held in Dakar, Senegal over the weekend of 10-11 February 2024.

Her coach Hugo Tortosa, one of the youngest coaches at the Olympics aged just 24, said that her training this week will comprise “very specific work to the first fight.”

“In taekwondo you can only think about the first opponent because if you do not pass that round you cannot compete further, so we can’t think about other opponents at this time,” Tortosa added. 

Mchezo Managing Director Ntoudi Mouyelo said he could not be more proud of Tau. 

“From the moment we were first introduced to her to this date, we at Mchezo have never once doubted her drive to excel. It was very clear from the word go that she was a cut above the rest, the kind of sports personality anyone can enjoy working with,” said Mouyelo.

For more information email press@mchezo.rw  

About Mchezo: 

Mchezo is a company focused on sports and talent development, responsible gaming and innovation with an aim of bringing dreams to life through diverse development projects across the continent. As the betPawa brand owner in Africa, Mchezo provides client services by offering a franchise to licence holders. Its vision is to ensure compliance, transparency, development of the sector (betting, payments and monitoring) and investment. 

About Michelle Tau:

Tau has been part of the Lesotho national team since 2013. She serves as the Female Taekwondo Anti-Doping Ambassador for Lesotho and Africa, a role promoting the importance of athletes staying healthy and drug-free. As well as being a taekwondo champion, Tau is also a champion for women’s rights and makes it her mission to ensure that every girl and woman has the opportunity to learn how to defend themselves against gender-based violence.