dyton mupawaenda
Sports Reporter
JUDO coach Simba Mashayi believes the upcoming Japanese Ambassador Cup 2023 provides a platform for upcoming judokas to showcase their talent.
The tournament is slated for Saturday at Hellenic School and more than 100 participants are expected to battle it out for honours in various categories from juniors to seniors.
“As Judo Association of Zimbabwe, I can say it’s good for upcoming athletes since this sport started in Japan.
“So for upcoming athletes it’s their chance to showcase their talent especially in this competition. It also happens every year, so all athletes especially in high density suburbs it will be good for them to compete because these athletes will be coming from different clubs.
“Last year we had Zambia, they came for our Ambassador Cup and it was good,” said Mashayi. The national coach added that it was also a chance for coaches to measure the standard of athletes and identify areas they need assistance to graduate to the next level.
“So we can assess where our athletes are in terms of how strong and how good they are when they are in that competition.
“Next year we have the African Games; it will be part of also, not necessarily selection, but a chance for us to look at athletes with the potential. So we will be seeing the athletes at this competition with potential who need assistance.
“So far this year, this is our second event. Last month we had the inter-club mainly for juniors, so for national level this is the first, the Ambassador Cup,” said Mashayi.
The tournament is organised by the Judo Association of Zimbabwe with the support of the Japanese Embassy.
It has become part of their developmental initiatives over the years. JAZ president Smart Deke acknowledged the support they receive from the Japanese Embassy.
“The Japanese embassy has been one of our greatest supporters for our association.
“This year they are working to help our association get funding to build a judo dojo for our association and have also been helping the association get a kit for practicing judo in our up and coming clubs in areas like Mabvuku, Epworth and Murewa.” Deke is hopeful of another exciting edition of the tournaments with participants earning ranking points.
“This tournament is a ranking tournament which will give points to every participant, these points are what we use to select our national team players for any regional and international competitions
“We have a number of new judokas that are doing amazingly well and look forward to seeing them participate at this much bigger competition. “Tongogara refugee camp will be coming again. We are expecting at least 15 athletes from Tongogara camp. The camp now has more than 100 kids doing judo now,” said Deke
Online Reporter