Karatekas harvest gold in Joburg
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday June 2, 2015 11:58
Botswana finished second overall, behind South Africa; taking home 21gold, eight silver, as well as 29 bronze medals.
South Africa finished first at the four nation tournament. Ofentse Bakwadi, Thato Malunga, Titus Ponatshego, Maatlaone Thebeng, Thabang Setshogo, Katlego Tsenene, Khaya Groth, Tshwaragano Mahokole, Gomolemo Mabolokane, Onkemetse Chepete, Lenard Modise, Phillipo Revaka, Centy Kgosikoma, Michelle Motlhankana and Zhar Khan all walked away with gold medals.
Botswana further won all the team events, finally beating South Africa at the finals.
The senior male Kata team comprised Bakwadi, Oduetse Bulayani and Groth.
The senior female Kata team was made up of Malunga, Baone Radiposo and Tsholofelo Maduma.
The junior male Kata team of Phillip Revaka, Lenard Modise and Tshepo Baumake also won a gold medal. The junior female Kata team of Kgosikoma, Mabolokane and Kgosibodiba also emerged victorious.
Botswana Karate Association (BOKA) programmes coordinator, Mpho Bakwadi told Mmegi Sport that they were impressed with their team’s performance. He gave credit to the women’s team for winning their first medal at the competition. Bakwadi said that has never happened before in the competition. He explained that the youth team performed beyond expectation.
“We used the Zone Six championship as part of our preparations for the All Africa Games scheduled for Congo, Brazzaville. The intention is to send some of the athletes for the World Karate Federation (WKF) intensive training in Croatia before the games,” he said. The youth team is scheduled to participate in the World Karate Championships, to be held in Indonesia in November.
Bakwadi said the idea is to focus on the youth team because they are the future of the sport and have proven themselves.
“The youth have shown hunger and determination to do more in international competitions. On the other hand, the senior national team did not stand out because they did not participate in the competition last year,” he said. One of the coaches, Peter Molefhe said the women team performed to expectation, adding that the changes they made to the team worked. He said the main challenge with the men’s team is they run out of steam at the crucial time of the matches.
Molefhe said failure to participate at the last Zone Six and Africa Cup competitions had a negative impact on the athletes.
“The senior team members participated in local tournaments, but you must be aware that international tournaments have a different approach. We are going to beef up the squad with some members before the All Africa Games,” he said. The weekend tournament saw Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe compete.
Meanwhile, when officially opening the competition, Zone Six president Million Masumbika urged member countries to lobby through relevant government structures in their countries for the inclusion of karate in the AUSC region Five Games, especially Angola and Botswana, who will host the games in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
“We have also applied for Confederation of Southern Africa Schools Sports Association (COSASSA) membership and still awaiting their response,” he revealed.