5 golds: Seychelles' Tang Soo Do team wins 16 medals at World Tang Soo Do Championship

The winners of medals at the World Tang Soo Do Championship. (Mastura Shah-Faure) 

(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles' Tang Soo Do team has won five gold medals, two silver and nine bronze at the World Tang Soo Do Championship, which took place in Greensboro, North Carolina, in the United States recently.

The gold medallists were Hershall Belle, with two gold medals, Kyan Francourt also picked up two gold medals, and another gold medal was won by Jonathan Volcere.

The silver medals were won by Alain Murzalin, who claimed two silver medals, and Ashwin Rangupathy, who won one silver.

Volcere and Rangupathy also won a bronze medal each. Other winners of the bronze medals were Tahsin Shah-Faure, Jishin Jins and Mastura Shah-Faure.

On their Facebook page, the Northern Tang Soo Do Seychelles said, "Despite the obstacles in trying to make it to the world championship, we did not give up and we made it, and as always, we have proven to be excellent ambassadors to the country."

Seychelles qualified for the World Championships after excellent performances at the African Championship last year, in Maputo, Mozambique, in which they won 14 medals; five gold, five silver, and four bronze.

The Seychellois team secured the overall best in the 14 to 15-year-old male category.

Tang Soo Do is a Korean martial art based on karate and can include fighting principles from taekkyeon, subak, as well as northern Chinese martial arts.

The techniques of what is commonly known as Tang Soo Do combine elements of Shōtōkan, Subak, Taekkyon and Kung Fu.