Despondent Molefhe quits national karate team
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday July 17, 2015 12:33
Molefhe was part of the team that participated in the Africa Zone Six championships held in Johannesburg in May. He told Mmegi Sport yesterday that despite not bringing a medal in the individual category, he was part of the team that won silver.
Molefhe said he was invited for a training camp and was informed by the technical team that he was going to compete at the All Africa Games. But, he said, things changed after appearing at the Gaborone Open tournament.
“We were told to participate in the tournament as part of training. I was not aware that they intended to use the event as a selection for the All Africa. I was shocked only to learn afterwards that I am no longer part of the team. I am not hurt that they dropped me, but with the way they treated me,” he said.
Molefhe said he has decided to quit the national team, but will remain active at club level.
National team coach, Sensei George Tshikare confirmed to Mmegi Sport that Molefhe was dropped and replaced with Thabang Setshego. He said Setshego is the Africa Youth Games champion and he is part of the kumite team. Tshikare explained that Setshego is still young and being part of the national team means he will gain the much needed experience.
The senior national karate team is preparing for the All Africa Games at the Bloemfontein High Performance Centre.
Tshikare explained that they are training together with the South Africa national team after an invitation from the South African Karate Association.
“They informed us that they would be having a training camp conducted by a Turkish instructor, Haldun Alagas. The instructor is a former World Champion and we could not let the opportunity pass,” he said.
The coach noted that the training is physically challenging. He said the team would be moving to Durban for the South African Karate Open Championships to be held over the weekend. He said the idea is to give the technical team a chance to watch the karatekas in action.
He added that they want to see if the athletes would put the techniques they have leant to good use.
“The plan is to have another training camp outside the country before the All Africa Games. The good thing about an outside camp is that athletes concentrate on training and there is no interference,” said Tshikare.
He added that even as coaches, they learn a lot from the lectures they received.
The full squad:
Men: Ofentse Bakwadi, Oratile Caiphus, Mpho Bosenakitso, Tirafalo Tsimamma, One Ntalagwe, Thabang Setshego, Khaya Groth, and Emmanuel Bulayane.
Women: Thato Malunga, Tsholofelo Maduma, Merrlyn Manthe, Lame Hetanang, and Baone Radiposo