Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE Kick-boxing Association have lined up eight athletes for the annual Desert Storm International Kick-boxing Championships, which get underway at the Jan Wilken Indoor Sports Complex, Walvis Bay in Namibia tomorrow.
A weigh-in session is scheduled for today.
The Zimbabwe team is comprised of Alen Mhango, Denzel Kamangira, Takunda Mandeya, Pardon Mhlanga, Joseph Kamangira, Ryan Chari, Douglas Mazuru and Patrick Takarindwa.
The team left for Namibia on Wednesday led by the association’s president, Tony Kamangira and technical director Bernard Roben.
“We are attending the Desert Storm 6 International Kick-boxing Championships.
“We have eight fighters that are going to take part.
“Our expectation is to scoop the title belts and to harvest medals,” said Kamangira.
He added that two of Zimbabwe’s fighters will be participating in title fights.
“We have two fighters, Denzel Kamangira, who is going for a title fight and Alen Mhango also going for a title fight.”
Kamangira will battle it out in the bantamweight while Mhlanga is up for the lightweight.
Joseph Kamangira and Mandeya will compete in the featherweight division while Chari and Takarindwa are up for the middleweight category.
Mazuru will take part in the junior cadet.
Meanwhile, karateka Justice Mutyoramwendo is set to join the SJK-GO-JU Combined Martial Arts Organisation for the upcoming Clash of Warriors II in South Africa on July 19.
The one-day tournament is targeting fighters from Zimbabwe and South Africa.
“It’s my first time to try kick-boxing and I have been given the main event fight based on my kyokushin karate record.
“The guys I am travelling with are already kick-boxers but I was invited to be part of the team.
“It’s a step forward for me because getting the invitation to kick-boxing, it means I am doing something right and people are noticing.
“I am trying something new . . . It means a lot to me,” said Mutyoramwendo.
He is hoping for a good show at the tournament.
“I just want to go and do my best because if I win this fight, it shows I am an all-rounder in martial arts, not just a karateka but a complete fighter.
“It’s been a month training specifically for the upcoming fight, I got the invitation a bit late. I have been working hard,” Mutyoramwendo said.
Mutyoramwendo is from the International Karate Organisation Nakamura Zimbabwe and has had some encouraging performances in karate, winning silver at the 28th Dragon Cup International Karate Friendship last November in Japan.
Bongani Ndlovu