Coach Neelu Nand and athlete Lolohea Naitasi arrived home safely on Wednesday, October 29 after participating at the World Tae kwon do Championship in Wuxi, China two weeks ago.
New Zealand-based Nipesh Prakash also represented Fiji at the event.
Naitasi, making her first World Championships appearance, lost her opening match to world class opponent Hatice Kubra IIgun of Turkey in the female 54kg category.
While her journey was cut short, the lessons learned from the global meet was still invaluable.
The Nakelo in Tailevu lass is no stranger to the international stage, having represented Fiji at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
She also won a silver medal at the 2023 Pacific Games.
Prakash competed in the senior male 80kg category. Prakash is one of Fiji top male Taekwondo athletes and has participated in six international tournaments, with four wins in eight registered fights, giving him a 50%-win rate.
Despite a spirited and gusty effort, he was also eliminated in is first match- a testament of the level of competition at the 2025 championship.
