Namibia ready for 2020 African Karate Championships
The Namibian Karate Union (Naku) has hopes to grow into a force in African karate.
Last year, Naku hosted the 2019 Region 5 Karate Championships, which it deemed a success.
The union, through its karate stars, collected numerous international honours, including three bronze medals at the 2019 African Karate Championships (UFAK) and a silver at the first African Beach Games.
In a statement issued this week, Naku says it hopes to continue building on this momentum, with the ultimate goal of sending athletes to participate in karate's debut at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
However, the first stop on this year's competition calendar is UFAK, which will be hosted in Tangier, Morocco, from 3 to 9 February.
Namibia will send 11 karatekas, who will be competing against Africa's top nations.
This year's tournament marks the 19th senior, 11th junior and third cadet editions of the championships.
Accompanying the team to Morocco will be Namibian national karate coach sensei Llewellyn Manale and team manager Marchelle de Jager.
Team captain Suzelle Pronk expressed excitement about the event as the team is eager to produce good results.
“I am very excited to once again return to Morocco to represent Namibia at the UFAK, which will be hosting the best karate athletes Africa has to offer.
“For senior athletes this year, the championships are especially important as it will serve as preparation for the upcoming Olympics qualification championships,” she said.
Naku's team consists of:
Suzelle Pronk (team captain)
Dominique Tsaneb
Shane Husselmann
Keanu Stuurman
Katelin Martin
Mayonne Swart
Joshua Kunneke
Jan-Magiel Leff
Jewel Slinger
Requelle Rickerts
Miriam Idiou
Jesse Jackson Kauraisa
Last year, Naku hosted the 2019 Region 5 Karate Championships, which it deemed a success.
The union, through its karate stars, collected numerous international honours, including three bronze medals at the 2019 African Karate Championships (UFAK) and a silver at the first African Beach Games.
In a statement issued this week, Naku says it hopes to continue building on this momentum, with the ultimate goal of sending athletes to participate in karate's debut at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
However, the first stop on this year's competition calendar is UFAK, which will be hosted in Tangier, Morocco, from 3 to 9 February.
Namibia will send 11 karatekas, who will be competing against Africa's top nations.
This year's tournament marks the 19th senior, 11th junior and third cadet editions of the championships.
Accompanying the team to Morocco will be Namibian national karate coach sensei Llewellyn Manale and team manager Marchelle de Jager.
Team captain Suzelle Pronk expressed excitement about the event as the team is eager to produce good results.
“I am very excited to once again return to Morocco to represent Namibia at the UFAK, which will be hosting the best karate athletes Africa has to offer.
“For senior athletes this year, the championships are especially important as it will serve as preparation for the upcoming Olympics qualification championships,” she said.
Naku's team consists of:
Suzelle Pronk (team captain)
Dominique Tsaneb
Shane Husselmann
Keanu Stuurman
Katelin Martin
Mayonne Swart
Joshua Kunneke
Jan-Magiel Leff
Jewel Slinger
Requelle Rickerts
Miriam Idiou
Jesse Jackson Kauraisa
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