23 Apr 2015

Judo coach, Sensei Kgosipula Kaupa, has expressed satisfaction that his team will perform well at the upcoming Judo Africa Senior Championships in Libreville, Gabon.

The team that is made of three athletes in Gavin Mogopa, Thato Lebang and Min Young Kim, travelled to Gabon to compete on a three-day event, which commenced on April 23. Sensei Japeta Letsholo is with the team.

“We are ready to compete in Gabon; our preparations for the championships started last year when we competed in the Region-Five Under-20 youth games in Zimbabwe,” he said during an interview before leaving at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport on April 21.

Sensei Kaupa added that in preparing for the Championships, they took part in the regional events to expose their athletes to different competition stages. He also said February this year, they competed in a Zone-Six SADC senior judo competition, in which all his team members won medals.

He said the winning streak has boosted their morale. Kaupa stated that the Gabon competition would be used as one of the qualifiers for the prestigious 2016 Olympics Games.
However, he expressed worry regarding the number of athletes they have sent to Gabon, saying his wish was to bring with him ten or twelve athletes.

Kaupa said the reason for taking three players was due to shortage of funds as Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) could only fund that number. He explained that BNSC was responsible for their funding and had monetary constraints.

Despite this, Kaupa said he has confidence on his team to compete and bring silverware with them. He said the selection was not easy one to make because all of his athletes are as good as the one selected.

Team captain, Gavin Mogopa said his team mates were ready for the Championships and trusts that the training that they had would help them to compete better, saying it was unfortunate not to bring more players with them.

Mogopa will compete in the Under-60 kg; Lebang on the 73 kg and the only lady in the team, Min Young Kim in the Under-63 kg. The team is expected back home next week Wednesday.  Ends