23 Jul 2017

Botswana Hayashi-Ha Karate Union, Sensei Ofentse Bakwadi will captain a team of 11 karatekas to this year’s Hayashi-Ha International Championships in Barcelona Spain.

The team left today (July 24) to August 3 for the tournament, and they will arrive back home on August 4.

Speaking in a press conference and send off ceremony for the team, Ofentse Bakwadi said the team did not have a camp but they intensified their training schedule from training three days weekly to training daily.

“We wanted to get the team together by increasing the frequency of our training as well us ensure we don’t go with a rusty team, because some of them were not at the zone VI Africa championships,” he said.

Sensei Bakwadi said they are hoping to improve on performance and get good medals.

After a kata demonstration by Masai Keipeile,a young disabled karateka, chief instructor Shihan Mpho Bakwadi said Botswana Hayashi-Ha Karate Union has opened up doors for people living with disabilities to train and participate in tournaments locally and internationally.

“The whole idea of having the young man demonstrates a kata before you here is to show you that we have people with disabilities who also can represent the country in international competitions,” he said.

Shihan Bakwadi said from the structure at club level they have already registered it at ground level to engage people with disabilities in the sport.

He encouraged parents not to keep disabled persons with a passion for karate at home but should bring them forward so that they achieve and realize their dreams of representing the country at international competitions.

He said they are not sending anyone to the international championships as the tournament doesn’t have competition for them.

Shihan Bakwadi further commended parents for their continual support to the sport in sponsoring their children to go and compete in the international championships.

Ha said the entire trip will cost them around P400 000 which was entirely paid for by parents of the karatekas and some sponsorship package of P5000 from Furniture Touch. ENDS