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Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S leading martial artist Wilfred Mashaya says he is pleased to have ended the year on a high note after claiming gold at the International BG Karate Championship 2023 held at BKSP Sports Village, Saver, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The tournament was held over two days, running from last Thursday to Friday.
Popularly known as Zim Ninja in martial arts circles, Mashaya represented Zimbabwe in the senior men freestyle weapon category.
He came first, winning gold ahead of Gautam Shrestha of Nepal, who came second. Raihan Mahmud of Bangladesh settled for third place and Koustav Sarkar of India was fourth.
Mashaya was competing under the banner of Zimbabwe Karate Union (ZKU) and for his efforts he received a gold medal, trophy and a certificate.
“Being from Africa and competing with Asian countries sometimes you will be like an underdog. But I am happy that I managed to compete well and also showcasing my talent. It was challenging but I managed to maintain my ground, having confidence, believing in myself and doing it for our country Zimbabwe.
“I can say the victory is important in the way that it has kept putting us on the map through this participation, showing the world that yes we can, especially in the world of kobudo in the world of weapons that I pioneered in 2016.
“And ending the year on such a high note it’s a motivator for us to enter 2024 with very high hopes,” said Mashaya.
Mashaya, who is the founder of the Zim Ninja Academy described 2023 as a fruitful year despite facing financial constraints as they managed to compete in a number of tournaments.
“2023 was a great year for me especially taking into consideration things that we managed to do this year that we never did in previous years.
“Firstly that was the year that we managed to compete in physical tournaments as a team because previously I was going alone. So 2023, in August, we managed to have a physical regional tournament (in South Africa) with a team of six participants.
“And on top of that we had an inclusion of female participants for the regional tournament being a physical tournament because all along for physical tournaments I was going alone. The team tournaments that we did were during the covid period, so this was quite a great achievement.
“We went on to compete in the World Championships in England, in October, also having myself and (Vincent) Fambira…Firstly he won three medals in the regional tournament – one silver medal and two gold medals, then at the World Championships he managed to scoop several gold medals.
“So we have achieved quite a lot and also it is actually a year when I visited Asia for the first time, Bangladesh.”
Mashaya was also inducted into the Poland Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2023.
As the new year begins Mashaya is hoping they continue growing the academy and representing the country at various regional and international tournaments.
“I am planning to make a solid and great team in weapons, in kobudo for 2024 that can participate in any tournament and do good.
“Increasing participation of men, women, and kids included…Martial arts comes with many benefits that range from physical fitness, discipline, improved self-esteem and many other benefits.
“We also want to encourage even the youths to participate in martial arts especially those that are doing drugs and substance abuse. I feel that through martial arts we can fight drug and substance abuse,” said Mashaya.
Online Reporter