Busy weekend for karatekas

championships, catering for the semi-contact styles, will see participants taking part in the Under-60kg, Under-67kg, Under-75kg and over 70kg in the men’s category while their female counterparts will compete in the Under-55kg, Under-68kg and over 68kg.
Zimbabwe Karate Union president, Joe Rugwete, said they moved the championships to Masvingo as part of their efforts to promote the sport in all provinces.
“The tournament will be held in Triangle as we continue in our efforts to decentralise karate and spread it across Zimbabwe. The new chairperson of the referees commission, Eugene Moody, will hold a referees course at the same venue on Friday. The actual competition is on Saturday,” said Rugwete.
Rugwete said they are looking forward to a good competition with the team set to compete at the World Championships in France later this month expected to participate in the national event.
“The national championships have not been held for quite sometime and it’s a comeback just like the inter-style tournament we held. Most of the tournaments that were being held were the champion of champions and the Japanese Cup due to the harsh economic climate.
“This time we have got a lot of provinces that have confirmed their participation. All styles have also confirmed their participation.
“Triangle has always been a karate town and we are recognising their efforts by allowing them to host the seniors’ championships,” said Rugwete.
The national association is scheduled to send a 10-member team to the 21st World Senior Championships to be held between November 21 and 25 in Paris, France.
The development comes after Samson Muripo and Mugove Muhambi left for another World Cup in Japan on Monday and the ZKU president, Rugwete, said they are expecting both teams to do well.
“Those that went to Japan are top fighters in full contact so we have got very high hopes for them. Samson and Mugove are our top fighters who have been performing exceptionally well and they have gone out there not only to represent Zimbabwe but also Africa.
“As for those going to France, they have done very well in the region when we went to the Zone Six, actually we want to see how these guys will fare.
“It’s their first time at the World Championships but we have told them that if they are the best in the region, they will do it,” said Rugwete.
However, Rugwete said they after the two world events they will shift their focus to juniors.
“As usual this is an issue of exposure. This will be the last time we send regular fighters to these tournaments.”