ZAMAF EYE 2020 TOKYO OLYMPICS

Sat, 17 Feb 2018 14:07:09 +0000

By MICHAEL MIYOBA

THE Zambia Martial Arts Federation (ZAMAF) says its main objective is to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games to be staged in Tokyo, Japan.

Speaking in an interview with Daily Nation Sports in Lusaka, ZAMAF president Munyarazi Mangaba, said his association is committed to qualify Zambian Karatekas for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Mangala said ZAMAF will work hard to prepare the Karatekas who would qualify for the Olympic Games after taking part in regional tournaments.

The Zambian Karate team is scheduled to take part in the 2018 region five karate championship to be hosted by Botswana next May with Mangaba declaring his team ready for the championships.

He said preparations for the region five Botswana championships are progressing well with 12 Karatekas having reported for camp at Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Lusaka.

“The karate team reported for camp four days ago to prepare for the region five karate championships to be staged in Botswana and there has been progress since the Karatekas reported.

“We have three tournaments which we have to participate in but our main objective is to qualify for the 2020 Olympic games to be held in Tokyo, Japan. We are working very hard to ensure that our team can qualify for the Olympic Games,” Mangaba said.

“There has been a cry from our colleagues outside Lusaka that we don’t involve them in tournaments such as the one we are preparing for but we are determined to improve the sport in Zambia and that is why we have called six karatekas from each provinces to give them from all the corners of the country a chance to participate at the zonal games.

“Right now we have Karatekas from Muchinga, Southern and Lusaka province who have already reported for camp. We are just calling on those that have not reported to report before February 22nd so that they can be assessed before the final team is selected,” Mangala said.