Young judokas leave lasting impressions

Naledi Lemogang | Monday December 4, 2017 15:14

The tournament was hosted and funded by the Mmopane Re Ba Bona Ha Judo Club.

Thaga told Monitor Sport that he was proud of the young judokas who have shown a lot of improvement. He said the tournament was very important since they are heading towards the Botswana Games to be held in Gaborone from December 8 to 11.

“The tournament was good. Technically, there was a lot of improvement. The players were technically sound and avoided injuries. The youngest player in the tournament was six years and the oldest, 21 in both male and female sections,” Thaga said.

 He said the judo population is growing in quality as most of the players are groomed from a young age and are always included in tournaments.

 “This tournament was a curtain raiser to the Botswana Games as our intention is to have a good tournament to end the year,” he said.  He stated that apart from the improvement on the technical aspect, they are happy with the turn out of women, both players and officials.

“We had 150 participants and most of them are women. The ratio is balanced. Our clubs are doing very well in the development of judo from the grassroots in both genders,” Thaga added.

He said they are also trying to use the interclub tournaments to develop and train judo officials, coaches, administrators and players since it is part of their goals to improve judo.

“We are preparing them for their debut appearance at the Botswana Games. We are hopeful that they will do a great job looking at how they performed during Saturday’s tournament,” Thaga said. “In Judo, we have young officials who are determined to officiate and learn more, that is why we are giving them opportunities.”

Meanwhile, Mmopane Re-Ba-Bona-Ha judo club won the inter club tournament after winning 43 medals.

 

Medal table

1. Mmopane Re Ba Bona Ha Club- 43

2. Senior Team -29

3. Botsalano Judo Club- 27

4. Phillip Moshotle -20

5. Lesedi Judo Club -12

6. Stepping Stone International- 6