Windhoek
The Namibian karate team made the country proud last month by claiming an astonishing total haul of 30 medals at the recently concluded Region Five Karate Championship in Zimbabwe.
Apart from hosts Zimbabwe the competition attracted four other southern African nations, led by Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Zambia.
The Namibian traveling entourage consisted mainly of junior karatekas, whose ages range between 10 and 21. The team’s performance improved tremendously, as the Namibians claimed an assortment of medals that included six gold, seven silver and 17 bronze medals.
In the junior division, Namibia finished third overall, behind Botswana and South Africa in that order and ended fourth in the senior division that only had four entrants.
“I’m very impressed by the team’s performance, because the plan we put in place since December last year is starting to yield the desired results,” said Freddy Mwiya, the national head coach.
Namibia Karate Union public relations officer Nichol Sibeso also echoed Mwiya’s assessment, adding that the future of the team looks bright. He revealed that plans are underway to dispatch the same team – with a few additions – to upcoming international competitions.