KATHMANDU: Nepali taekwondo duo Ganesh Khadka and Sa Kumar Basnet are on Sunday leaving for Copenhagen to participate in the World Taekwondo Championships slated for October 14-18.

Khadka will compete in the 58-62kg (bantam weight category) while Basnet will fight in the 54-58kg (fly weight category). Khadka, who also competed in the 10th SAF Games in Sri Lanka in 2006, was selected following his performance in the fifth National Games held in April and the fourth Korean Ambassador Cup in June.

Khadka won gold medals in both the events while he was also adjudged the best fighter in the Korean Ambassador Cup. Basnet was picked up for the tournament after winning gold medal in the fifth National Games and reaching the quarter-finals in the 14th Asian Martial Arts Games in Thailand in August.

The players said they are confident of a good performance despite a short preparation time. They were trained by taekwondo ace Deepak Bista and fifth Dan Subhash Chandra Thapa for 22 days.

“The training we received was not adequate for the high profile meet like the World Champioships but we are still confident of performing well,” said Khadka who is known for his technical precision. The players also said that the tournament will boost them up for a better showing in the 11th South Asian Games (SAG) scheduled for January 29 to February 9 in Dhaka next year.