Alliance Insurance Sponsors Tau

Staff reporters

Alliance Insurance has pledged to finance Taekwondo star Michelle Tau’s expenses for her next three upcoming competitions.

The company’s charitable gesture comes after Tau reach out for financial assistance in her overseas training as she eyes qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Tau recently revealed that she was unable to attend two international competitions due to a lack of finances, and was likely to miss out on more competitions if she does not secure funding.

She said taking part in these tournaments is crucial in her pursuit of qualifying for the Olympic Games.

The Alliance sponsorship will take care of her immediate needs, including her attire, travel, and visa requirements, which will ensure she manages to attend as many international games as possible to maintain and improve her rankings.

Tau is ranked number one in the under-46-kilogram female category on the African continent and seventh globally.

This is according to the recent World Kyorugi Rankings released by the World Taekwondo, an international federation governing the sport.

“Alliance is delighted to announce its intention to join the cry to rally behind Michelle Tau, our very own taekwondo superstar, highly ranked in Africa and the world,” Alliance said in a statement this week.

“We believe this support will go a long way to ensure that Lesotho gets a medal in next year’s Olympic games that we hope she will qualify for.

“As a country, this is one of the highest rankings our athletes have received, and we need to protect and support it at all costs. To achieve this, Alliance has pledged to pay expenses for her three upcoming games.”

Alliance Insurance chief executive officer (CEO) Angus Yeats, said Tau has worked very hard to be where she is and deserves Basotho’s support.

“We came to learn of Michelle’s plight through social media, and as a proudly local company, we could not sit back and allow her to miss any more events, which would possibly have detrimental effects on her rankings and indeed on her hopes to qualify for the upcoming Olympic games in France next year. So, we decided to help. She has worked very hard, and she deserves all the support she can get, hobane Ke ngoana oa Lapeng,” he said.