Kickboxing preps begin

categories from lightweight to heavyweight division.
Zika president, Tony Kamangira, said they were putting the big event into shape.
“The national championships cater for everyone, so we are going to have both juniors and seniors.
“It’s different from other events in that this is where we come up with the champions for each category and we will be looking on individual effort.
“It also assist us in preparing for next year as we will assess fighters with the potential to make it into the national teams. It will be part and parcel of our preparations for the next year because we have a lot of events on the calendar for next year. We are expecting above 50 kickboxers from all the active provinces and those that would have done well, we will continue following checking on their progress,” said Kamangira.
The Zika president said they were expecting stiff competition as the championships are the most prominent event on the local scene.
“We are expecting everyone to put up their best performance as we choose the best fighters in the country.
“However, we are not only focusing on the skills but also discipline among our members, that is how they behave within their communities because we want them to be responsible.
“We are also going to focus on the rules and regulations, we want to see if the fighters are abiding by the rules and update them on the new trends of the sport,” said Kamangira.
Kamangira said they are going to reward the outstanding fighters that did well throughout the year and other stakeholders who contributed in promoting the sport.
“At the national championships we are going to recognise the outstanding fighters and other stakeholders who would have contributed much in Zimbabwe. We are also trying to run around so that the winners at the tournament get something as a way to inspire them,” said Kamangira.
Some of the kickboxers expected to defend their titles are lightweight champion Brighton Tangata, Absolom Chiturumane in the heavyweight and the Bazioni brothers — Knowledge and Bazioni — who are the title holders in the bantamweight and light welterweight divisions.