The men’s kata team also got a gold medal after defeating Cameroon with the same score margin in the final. Philip Raveka scooped a bronze medal in individual kata and kumite in the 16-17 years men’s category. Oratile Caiphus won a bronze medal in the men’s Under 75kg category. However, Mohammad Ali Hassan and Lemogang Koolopile failed to make it to the final. Mpho Bosenakitso was knocked out in the first round of his bout. Lame Hetanang and Thabang Setshego competed yesterday.
The 2017 UFAK championships are attended by 20 nations with 185 participants battling against each other. The championships end today (Monday). Shihan Mpho Bakwadi also passed his UFAK referees examinations. Meanwhile, Botswana Karate Association (BOKA) has won a bid to host the 2019 UFAK championships. BOKA was competing for the hosting rights against Mali, Burundi and Algeria. Speaking to The Monitor Sport from Yaoundé, BOKA president, Sensei Tshepho Bathai could not hide his excitement. He said winning the bid meant a lot to the association and the country. “This means we have to start building a good team to represent us in 2019. It means putting up a good show to market the country and building good relations with all stakeholders including the media above all our dream of qualifying for Tokyo 2020 Olympic games can be realised,” he said.
