Journalist lifts Zimbabwe flag high

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
RENOWNED Zimbabwean sports journalist Grace Chirumanzu raised the country’s flag high when she won a bronze medal at the fifth UK International Kyokushin Cup held at the Caledonian University in Glasgow, Scotland, last weekend.

Chirumanzu was the only African participant in the contact sport and she had to contend with opponents from Ireland, Great Britain and Russia, who all had an added advantage of better resources in preparing for such demanding duels.

Speaking from the United Kingdom yesterday, Chirumanzu said her triumph has proved that with determination and zeal to succeed, nothing was impossible. She conceded that her opponents had good technique due to better preparations and resources, but her power and endurance saw her holding fort when it mattered most, enabling her to scoop her first international medal.

“I feel inspired to continue dreaming big, as this has proved to me that nothing is impossible when you want it so bad and you prepare for it. My opponents had some good technique, which l hope to improve on. My advantage was power and endurance, which they mostly struggled to keep up with. I fought more fights than others, but I am happy that the way we train in Zimbabwe just prepares one for war literally,” said Chirumanzu.

She said it was her hope that her achievement will help inspire other young Zimbabwean and African girls to follow their dreams.

“This was my first international tournament and winning a medal no matter the colour is huge. I hope it can inspire other young girls in Zimbabwe that if I started karate later in life and have gone on to win a medal, they can do much more if they start earlier.

“Being a sports journalist, I am happy to have proved what Zimbabwean female athletes are capable of doing. If I managed to win a medal without much resources compared to what my opponents are exposed to, it means Zimbabwean women can do a lot more with support,” she said.

Chirumanzu paid tribute to her trainer Shihan Samson Muripo, who is the reigning Zimbabwean Sports Person of the Year, as well as Sempai Tangayi Mhlanga.