Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
PROMISING judoka Charmaine Mumbiro has described her first-place finish at the Southern African Judo Championships in Lusaka, Zambia, as an incredible achievement.
Mumbiro was part of the 22-member team that represented Zimbabwe at the two-day regional competition that took place on Saturday and Sunday.
Zimbabwe claimed eight medals — one gold, four silver and three bronze.
The 18-year-old proved her mettle when winning Zimbabwe’s only gold medal in the senior women -70kg.
“Winning gold was an incredible achievement. A testament to all the hard work and dedication I have put in. It’s a proud moment for me and my team,” said Mumbiro.
“The competition was fierce. Everyone was talented, but I stayed focused and gave it my all.
“I would say my strength, my determination and preparation kept me going. I trained hard and believed in myself.”
She is looking forward to stepping onto the international stage in the future.
“Next up, I am looking forward to taking on more challenges, maybe some international competitions.
“I am going to keep pushing myself,” Mumbiro said.
The team included seniors and cadets (15 to 17-year-olds). Trust Nhemachena and Brian Chiminya competing in the senior male +100kg and senior male -73kg, weighed in with a silver each.
Sasha Chamhumha also picked up a silver medal in the cadets female -44kg, while Tichaona Gandanhamo added an-other silver in the cadets male -81kg.
The trio of Denzel Shumba (senior male -66kg), Trish Mtewa (senior female +78kg) and Preside Msiyiwa (senior male -90kg) won bronze medals in their respective categories.
Hosts Zambia were the overall winners with 52 medals. South Africa were second with five medals that included three gold and two bronze to complete the top three.
Judo Association of Zimbabwe general secretary Washington Muronda said: “Team Zimbabwe delivered a strong performance at the Southern Africa Judo Championships, finishing an impressive third overall in a highly competitive regional tournament.
“For the level of competition, I think our team has improved, even the cadets. We had four who lost in the bronze match. The performance was good,” said Muronda.
The championships served as one of the qualifying events for the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Youth Games later this year.
And with another qualifier expected in August, Muronda is confident some of their athletes will make the cut based on some of the performances he witnessed in Zambia.
Southern Africa Judo Confederation president Smart Deke confirmed they will have another qualifying event in Au-gust.
Athletes will be ranked based on points.
Muronda said they need to increase their numbers for the next regional event.
“The chances of qualifying are there. We came third overall just by the virtue that South Africa had more gold medals than us.
“Zambia had more medals, and them being the host country had a number of athletes. But for us, due to budget constraints we had to come up with a team. “For Mozambique, we will try to come up with a bigger team and at least try to have two athletes per category,” said Muronda. He expressed gratitude to the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee for sponsoring air tickets for the cadet team, making their participation possible among other partners that supported Team Zimbabwe.
