13 Mar 2014

Some of the world’s finest karatekas are expected to set the Al Nur School Hall alight when they compete for the Gaborone Open Karate Championships titles on Saturday, March 15.

The Hayashi-Ha style, an affiliate to the country’s karate governing body Botswana Karate Association (BOKA) will stage the fourth edition of the tournament, which is expected to draw a large number of young and seasoned karatekas.

In an interview, the publicity secretary of Hayashi-Ha, Kaene Kago was adamant that this year’s tournament was likely to be a huge success owing to the intensive preparations of the African junior teams for the upcoming 2nd Africa Youth Games penciled for May this year.

On the other hand the tournament will come as an opportune moment for the senior karatekas who are bracing for the last round of the BOKA senior second leg qualifiers championships coming hot on the heels of the weekend event.

The tournament will attract more than 350 participants. Six countries, Namibia, Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Estonia have confirmed their participation.

For the first time in the history of the tournament, some of North Africa’s karate powerhouses, Morocco and Senegal will make the grade in what promises to be a thriller of a tournament.

Some of the local lads who are expected to shine at the event include amongst others the incumbent senior men kata champion Ofentse Bakwadi and 2013 Junior Sportsman of the Year, Khaya Groth.

Estonian World Champion, Tanel Paabo is also lined up to give a few lessons to the local athletes. South African acclaimed champion who has not tasted defeat in the last decade Morgan Moss is also expected to grace the event.

Botswana will bank on the prowess of Kaene Kago, a renowned kumite gold hopeful and also Men’s under 75kg kumite champion, Oratile Caiphus.

The tournament will be in the form of individual Kata and individual Kumite for ages 5 to 35, providing a rare opportunity for athletes of all ages and technique level to come and test their acumen while also gaining priceless exposure.

A group of local companies comprising Diamond sponsors Debswana have coughed up a whooping P200 000 as sponsorship for the tournament.

Inaugural sponsors Mascom wireless, Western Union and Boitekanelo have been joined by Nandos, Properties and Homes and Apex Holdings for this years’ tournament. Ends