Windhoek – This past weekend, the Namibia Karate Union (Naku) and its team of 43 athletes participated in the 9th Commonwealth Karate Championships.
The tournament, which consisted of both the Commonwealth Cup (Under 14, veterans, and masters divisions) and the Commonwealth Championships (Cadets, Juniors, Under 21, and Seniors), was held at the Olive Convention Center in Durban, South Africa.
About 936 contestants from 13 countries competed over the course of the four-day tournament, with the ultimate aim of being crowned Commonwealth Champions.
Since its inclusion into the 2020 Olympic Games, there has been tremendous growth in karate worldwide, and many Commonwealth Karate Championships are seen as one of the highest platforms for elite level karate participation.
Against that background, the Namibia Karate Union leadership expressed gratitude towards Team Namibia, which managed to secure six Commonwealth bronze medals and one Commonwealth gold at this year’s tournament!
Namibia’s Commonwealth medalists are:
Ané Olivier – Bronze (Kumite)
Requelle Rickerts – Bronze (Kumite)
Carlo Amia – Bronze (Kumite)
Freddy Mwiya – Bronze (Kata) and Gold (Kumite)
Suzelle Pronk – Bronze (Kumite)
Stefan van der Merwe – Bronze (Kumite)
“These athletes have proven that Namibia Karate is not only ready to compete against some of the best teams in the world, but to also achieve an elite level. Namibia Karate Union would like to congratulate all of its athletes on their achievements at this year’s Commonwealth Karate Championships; you have made your country proud! We would like to thank this year’s primary sponsor, FuturEnergy, for helping to make this dream possible. Finally, Naku hopes to inspire more athletes and sponsors to get involved in this amazing sport as we build up to the AUSC Region 5 Karate Championships, which will be hosted in Namibia in May 2019,” said Naku’s statement.