Zimbabwe wins bid to host AUSC 5 Karate champs

Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE have won the bid to host the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Karate Championships next year.

The decision to award Zimbabwe the bid was made at the just-ended AUSC Region 5 Karate Championships held in Durban, South Africa.

Zimbabwe National Karate Federation (ZNKF) participated in the event, which was attended by the vice-president of the World Karate Federation (WKF) Bechir Cherif, WKF executive member Souleymane Gaye, and WKF expert coach Professor Antonio Oliva Seba.

Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe participated in the championships.
Zimbabwe’s 13-member squad of 10 females and three males won six medals from the championships.

ZNKF president Joe Rugwete was also confirmed as African Karate Federation vice-president representing Southern Africa.
Rugwete is also the AUSC Region 5 Karate Federation president after being elected in November last year.

Other events ZNKF expects to participate in this year include the World Games in Birmingham, England, the UFAK Championship in Bamako, Mali, FISU UWC Combat Games in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and the WKF Cadet-Junior and Under-21 World Championships in Konya, Turkey.

After being formally admitted to the WKF, ZNKF spent most of last year putting up structures and holding domestic competitions.

ZNKF was formed as a breakaway from the Zimbabwe Karate Union (ZKU), which was expelled from the WKF in March last year for failing to amend its constitution and align it with the global governing board’s rules and regulations.