adminEllina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
Samson Muripo and Admire Chingozhoro left the country yesterday for Iran where they will represent the country in the second So-kyokushin International Karate tournament Ohishi Cup set for this week.
The tournament is slated for Thursday and Friday and Muripo will compete in the middleweight category while Chingozhoro will fight for the top honours in the Open weight category.
Zimbabwe So-Kyokushin Karate technical director Kumbirai Musinami said they would have wanted to field more athletes in the event but could not because of limited resources.
“They left this morning (yesterday) and it’s only those two who will be competing because of limited sponsorship.
“There will be quite a number of countries, it’s an international event and we are not expecting anything less than 15 to 20 countries but we will only know the actual number when they get there.
“Samson will be competing in the middleweight and Admire is competing in the Open weight. It’s a high profile tournament because the head of So-Kyokushin the world over, Saiko-Shihan Daigo Ohishi will be in attendance and will take the fighters through some training for kata and the basics,” said Musinami.
Musinami said they believe the two karatekas will do well in Iran since they are seasoned fighters who have competed in events of such magnitude before.
Muripo, who is a former world champion, early this year came fourth at the 46th All-Japan Karate Senshuken Taikai championships in April while Chingozhoro finished fifth.
“We looked at who performed best at the last international event for our selection.
“Muripo came fourth in the last tournament in April and Admire was fifth, it was an Open tournament and they brought medals. Lovemore Nyamutswa came sixth but could not go because of resources.
“This is the first time that we have taken part in a tournament in Iran but in terms of magnitude, it is the same with other international events they have been to. It’s actually the same with the one they attended in Japan so we think they will be comfortable with the tournament.
“We hope that since the head of So-Kyokushin is attending there will be international referees and we expect the refereeing to be fair.
“The reason why we compete in these events is to get as much experience as we can because very soon we wish to host international events. And by competing in these events we are profiling our athletes, how good they are so that when we invite others here they are eager to come.
“It helps raise the flag of our country high and we want the name of Zimbabwe to be recognised as one of the strongholds in karate. Remember we have done well before so we want to maintain our ranking,” said Musinami.
Muripo and Chingozhoro are expected to arrive in Iran today ahead of the competition starting tomorrow.
Online Reporter