Karatekas for SA

tournament scheduled for this weekend.
The tournament is pencilled for Saturday in Thokoza in the Gauteng province. The Kyokushin Union of Zimbabwe sent Tendai Chaparadza, Austin Mucheni and Kelly Mtisi for the one-day event. Zimbabwe will compete in three weight divisions with Chaparadza taking part in the lightweight category while Mucheni and Mtisi will fight for the top honours in the middleweight and Open weight divisions respectively.
One of the karatekas, Chaparadza said they were going to give their best at the tournament.
“We promise that we will bring something for the nation. We hope we will get some medals. The preparations have been progressing well although we were not able to train as a team. However, it is not going to affect us because in kyokushin we are a family, we have been working together for some time now and we will support each other,” said Chaparadza. The 18-year-old was last year crowned champion in the lightweight division of the Ashihara Karate Sabaki World Cup held in South Africa. KUZ technical director, Samson Muripo, said he was confident that the three athletes will distinguish themselves.
“Austin has participated in the same tournament before while the other two have been to the Ashihara and they are going to use their experience in this competition.
“In fact, we have proved a powerhouse of kyokushin in Sadc and the world over,” said Muripo.
Last year, Zimbabwe took part at the event and Lovemore Nyamutswa was crowned the overall winner of the tournament after he scooped a gold and silver medal in the Open and Under-80kg categories. Malvery Muyambo won a gold medal in the Under-60kg weight division.
However, the two will not be able to defend their titles, as they are part of the World Cup team that is expected to represent Zimbabwe in Kazakhstan in July. “The World Cup team will not be taking part because they will need time to heal the injuries after this tournament,” said Muripo.