MBABANE – UK Based taekwondo star Thandukukhanya Dlamini hoisted the country’s flag high bagging a gold medal.
This was during the British Army Inter-Services Taekwondo Tournament staged two days ago. Dlamini had won silver in this same competition last year.
In the United Kingdom, the Inter-Services Championships are elite annual sporting tournaments where athletes and teams from the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force (RAF) compete for military supremacy.
He is fresh from winning another gold in Eswatini’s biggest competition being the 2026 Next Generation Taekwondo Club Championships held at the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) Sports Emporium on July 4. Dlamini expressed delight with his performance.
“I was looking forward to it to be honest. Last year I competed and I got a silver medal. But this time around I was more ready and more focused into winning a gold medal,” he said.
He further revealed plans to partake in the 2028 Olympic Games slated for Los Angeles, United States of America (USA).
“Other than winning a gold medal, I was more concerned about my performance rather as I am gearing for LA28,”he added. He began martial arts at the age of nine and previously formed part of the Eswatini national team, competing in the World Championships three times. This was in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Dlamini stood tall, vying for one of the biggest accolades against three military counterparts for the top men’s gong last year. Dlamini contested and won the Sportsman of the Year award against Rob Vincent from shooting and Marvric Pamphile from athletics.
The black belt artist only returned to martial arts last year after surviving cancer and has since won notable events, including the Liverpool Open and the Wales Open after joining the army seven years back.
