Month: <span>October 2016</span>

Rwanda national volleyball teams head coach Paul Bitok has said that the women team has a bright future after finishing on third position at the just concluded U23 Africa Championships, which was staged in Nairobi, Kenya.

Rwanda missed out on the finals of the 2017 World Championships in Slovenia after losing to hosts Kenya 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-19 and 25-20) at the Africa U23 Women Volleyball Championships that climaxed on Thursday evening at Safaricon Kasarani Stadium.

Egypt and Kenya will represent Africa at the World Championships in August next year. During the competition, Rwanda captain Seraphine ‘Baby’ Mukantabara was named as the best server in the tournament.

Bitok said that the sport local governing body, FRVB, needs to continue to devise plans to take the game to the grassroots in a bid to attract more young players.

“It is a matter of giving them (young players) the chance to play as many matches as possible at the international level where they get more experience.

“I believe next year we will have a much stronger senior national team because we have gained a lot from this competition,” said Bitok upon the team’s return from Nairobi on Friday evening.

The Kenyan trainer added, “We only need to continue develop the sport from youth to the senior level.”

The government has set itself a target of propelling the country to the top three on the continent in both basketball and volleyball by the 2017.

Bitok insists that the volleyball federation needs to continue to work closely with primary and secondary schools in promoting the sport, which has helped create and sustain a pool of good players around the country in past years.

Source: http://www.newtimes.co.rw

Outstanding victories by both Male and Female Kata teams helped Japan finish the 2016 Karate World Championships in first position of the final standings of the thrilling competition being held in Linz (Austria), thus confirming the domination of the birth nation of the ancient discipline.

The last day of action rounded off the biggest Karate tournament, as the new kings and queens of the sport were crowned in the Austrian city. After five thrilling days of competition, the Karate world met the new heroes of the sport who prevailed in the memorable tournament. Five-time world champion Rafael Aghayev of Azerbaijan, two-time gold medallists Ryo Kiyuna and Kiyou Shimizu of Japan, and double champion France’s Alexandra Recchia were among the start of the event.

World titles for the Team Kata categories and the Male Team competition were assigned on the last day, so to consummate Japan’s dominance in the tournament. Just as Japanese karatekas had claimed gold in both individual Male and Female Kata, representatives of the Asian country ruled the Male and Female Team Kata categories.

Driven by two-time world champion Ryo Kiyuna, and completed by Arata Kinjo and Takuya Uemura, the Japanese Male Kata team confirmed its authority in the category by beating France in the final. The side of the Asian country, after staying away from the medals two years ago in Bremen, recovered the world crown winning all the bouts by unanimous decision.

“I feel extremely happy for this gold, even happier than with my victory in individual Kata. We prepared for this moment for many years, and for us it is a dream come true,” said Ryo Kiyuna.

“This gold medal is the conclusion of a very intense preparation and a long time training in Okinawa. (Our coach) Sakamoto sensei trained us very well and I would like to thank him for this success,” declared Takuya Uemura.

The Female Kata Team put a golden finishing touch to Japan’s sensational performance in Linz and was crowned new world champions of the category. The side composed by Miku Morioka, Hikaru Ono and Yamashita had presented a forceful performance in the previous bouts after convincing victories over Hong Kong and Croatia, and barely edging Italy in the semi-final. In the key bout, Japanese karatekas upset Spain by unanimous decision.

The victory in Linz represents the reclamation of the world title by Japan after losing the final against Germany in Bremen two years ago. This time in Linz, Japan’s Kurunfa kata proved too strong for Spain’s Paiku kata.

Iran prevail in impressive Male Team Kumite competition

The Male Team Kumite category was confirmed as one big highlight of the event after thrilling and disputed bouts in all the rounds. Iran was proclaimed the strongest side following their narrow victory over Japan in an outstanding final. With gold medallist Sajad Ganjzadeh as main representative, the line up composed by Saeid Ahmadikaryani, Bahman Asgari Ghonheh, Ali Fadakar, Mahdi Khodabakhshi, Zabiollah Poorshab and Ima Sanchooli prevented Japanese delegation from winning gold in all the finals of the day while ratifying its authority in the category.

Iran defended the title achieved in Bremen two years ago, and the squad of the Asian country renewed their world title in an energetic demonstration of collective power.

Last heroes of Para-Karate competition crowned

After the imposing culmination of the blind/visually impaired and intellectually impaired categories on Saturday, the last day of the event served to top off the wheelchair competition. Karate fans from all around the world had the opportunity to witness once more the striking abilities of the participants who dazzled with their katas. The gold medals were claimed by Skender Tosic of Slovenia and Knarik Airapetian of Ukraine.

MVP’s of the tournament announced

Once all the medals were allocated, it was the moment to honour the biggest stars of the memorable event. The Most Valuable Players in all six major categories of the competition were named so to revere the karatekas who had fascinated during the tournament.

The MVP award for Male Kumite went to Karate’s biggest star Rafael Aghayev. The Azerbaijani hero won his fifth world title in Linz, so to extend one of Karate’s most epic careers.

In Female Kumite, Austria’s Alisa Buchinger was named MVP of the competition after taking the organising country to a well-deserved gold medal. The Salzburg-native completed a perfect competition and caused a sensation with her victories in the host nation.

Ryo Kiyuna of Japan received the MVP of the Male Kata category thus rounding off a dream tournament. With two gold medals to account for, Kiyuna demonstrated to be kata’s king in Linz.

Also acting as two-time world champion, Kiyou Shimizu of Japan was honoured as Female Kata most outstanding competitor. The 22-year old karateka stated her domination in the category after a memorable quest to glory.

The gripping performances of Para-Karate athletes were also recognised in Linz, and two of their top competitors were awarded with the MVP honour. The Male Para-Karate MVP award went to Raymond Morcomb while the Female Para-Karate MVP award was earned by Knarik Airapetian of Ukraine.

Click here for the full list of medallists of 2016 Karate World Championships.

Source: wkf.net

The second day of Karate World Championships will go down in history of the sport for the outstanding bouts and the troubles that Karate Stars and top favourites found to make it to the finals. Suprising eliminations shocked most of the categories in action in day 2 of the thrilling event.

Favourites shine in Female Kumite -50kg

Alexandra Recchia of France was one of the big heroines of the day after a flourishing performance in Female Kumite -50kg category. The French star dominated in all her bouts of the day and defeated among others local hopeful Bettina Plank and Malaysia’s Shree Sharmini Segaran to earn the ticket to the final in spectacular fashion.

The category also represented the continuation to Japan’s successful performance in the first day of the tournament. Japanese young karateka Miho Miyahara surprised with her qualification to the final in her fourth major international event after her bronze in 2015 World Junior, Cadet and U21 Championships. Miyahara beat favourite Rawda Sayed of Egypt to make it to the title-deciding bout.

Shocking results in Female Kumite -55kg

World and European champion Sara Cardin of Italy and World championships runner-up Syakilla Salni Jefry Krishnan of Malaysia failed to reach the decisive stages of the competition in a surprising outcome of the Female Kumite -55kg category. With the two top favourites out of the way, the path to glory was opened to young figures who dazzled in Linz.

Emilie Thouy of France confirmed her condition of main rising star of the sport after an effective and powerful performance in Linz. The 23-year old karateka defeated silver medallist Syakilla Salni Jefry Krishnan to repeat qualification to the final of a World Championships. Two years ago in Bremen the young French star was defeated by Sara Cardin and now in Linz the 2015 European champion will try to reach the top position of the podium.

Brazil’s Valeria Kumizaki became the other leading name of the day in women’s categories after earning her pass to the last bout of the tournament. The Brazilian karateka achieved her best result of her long career so to extend her tally of 15 medals in Karate 1-Premier League competitions.

Anticipated final in Female Kumite -61kg

Karate fans will have to follow closely one of the most exciting finals on Saturday, when two first-class karatekas will clash for gold. Egypt’s Giana Lofty confirmed her star status in her powerful rise to the final in Linz. The current World champion who has not lost a bout in over two years will try to increase her impressive tally of honours with her eight consecutive gold medal in major international tournament thus becoming one of Karate’s most decorated athletes in female competition. 

“It is a honour to be one of the world champions competing in this tournament; it is a great feeling to be here among so many great athletes, so I hope I will do well (in the final). I hope I will win!,” said Giana Lotfy.

Facing impressive Lotfy is top Karateka Lucie Ignace of France. The athlete born in La Reunion presented an outstanding level throughout the competition and qualified for the final after upsetting China’s Xiaoyan Yin. The current European champion will try to recover the world crown which she earned on 2012 in an anticipated final bout for the domination of the category.

“I am very happy for reaching the final. My trajectory was difficult, but I have worked hard for this, so I am very satisfied to be in the final. My job is not done yet and I expect a good fight. We’ll see what happens,” stated Lucie Ignace.

New names rule in Male Kumite -60kg

In other of the big upsets of the day, world champion Douglas Brose of Brazil was stripped early of options to win his third gold medal in World championships after his shocking defeat in the pool round against France’s Sofiane Agoudjil.

The places to fight for gold went to Geoffrey Berens of The Netherlands and Amir Mehdizadeh of Iran. The Dutch karateka beat Firdovsi Farzaliyev of Azerbaijan in semi-finals and will try to reach the top of the podium after his silver medal two years ago in Bremen.

Iran upcoming karateka got the best result of his short career following a victorious perfomance in Linz. Mehdizadeh defeated France’s Sofiane Agoudjil in semi-finals, and extended Iran’s successful performance in the tournament.

Renovation or continuity in Male Kumite -67kg

Favourite and world ranking second placed Yves Martial Tadissi of Hungary made history for his country after qualifying for his first final in World Championships. The Karate 1-Premier League in Okinawa gold medallist defeated top karateka Burak Uygur of Turkey to earn the right to end the Hungarian drought of medals in the biggest Karate competition.

The opposite place in the tatami for the final also had a surprising contender since England’s Jordan Thomas won the ticket to the title-deciding bout following an impressive performance. In his first final in over two years, the European championships bronze medallist produced one big upset of the day after defeating top favourite and world ranking leader Vinicius Figueira of Brazil. 

Front-runners reach final in Male Kata team

Japanese delegation reached their fifth out of six finals of the competition thus far after signing a convincing performance in Male Kata team. Led by world champion Ryo Kiyuna, the Japanese team formed by individual Male kata finalist Kiyuna, Arata Kinjo and Takuya Uemura rushed into the final stunning all the rivals on their way, including European champions Spain.

Overcoming the disappointment suffered at home ground in the European Championships in Montepellier, where they lost the final against Spain, the French team recovered to qualify for the golden match bout. The squad composed by Lucas Jeannot, Enzo Montarello and Ahmed Zemouri cruised to the last round defeating first-class kata teams like Germany, Italy and Egypt.

“Kata nations” meet in final of Female Kata team

Two successful countries in Kata competitions in the last years, Japan and Spain are set to clash for gold in the final of the Female Kata Team competition. The Japanese side, in their sixth final of the championships, confirmed their favourite status with an impressive demonstration of coordination and control. The team formed by Miku Morioka, Hikaru Ono and Kyosuke Yamashita will try to avenge the defeat suffered two years ago against the German team in the final in Bremen.

Spain will try to take Germany’s side and repeat the history on Sunday following their positive performance in Linz. The karatekas Gema Morales, Margarita Morata and Paula Rodriguez achieved their best result as a team and eliminated top competitors France and Egypt, European championships bronze medallists Turkey and Pan American champions Brazil.

Source: www.wkf.net

The 2016 edition of the Karate World Championships set in motion with a thrilling first day of competition full of surprises and sensational bouts. The Male and Female Kata categories and the Male Kumite +84kg, Male Kumite -84kg, Male Kumite -75kg, Female Kumite +68kg and Female Kumite +68kg competitions took the stage in a memorable day for the sport.

Surprises appeared early over the five tatamis installed in the Tips Arena sport hall in Linz. Egypt Sarah Sayed became one sensation of the day after qualifying for the final of the spectacular Female Kata category. The 21st placed in the world ranking shocked favourites and got the spot in the final in a tight semi-final bout against Italy’s Viviana Bottaro. The young Egyptian karateka was not among the candidates to glory in Linz and had not made it to the podiums of major international events since 2014. However, the promising star showed great determination on her quest to cause a sensation in the biggest Karate event.

“It is the first time in history of Egyptian karate that a female reaches the kata final so of course I am very happy. I made a lot of sacrifices to be here and at the end of the day, all that I did was worth it,” said Sarah Sayed, who admitted that her performance “surprised myself. I over exceeded my expectations.”

“I am very happy with how people reacted to my victories and how great it was to make my country so proud. Kiyou Shimizu is a very respected competitor, but I came here to be the first,” commented the Egyptian sensation. 

On the other side of the tatami, the current world champion Kiyou Shimizu will try to earn her second consecutive gold in the competition. The impressive karateka demonstrated her potential during the pool round after winning every bout in unanimous decisions. In one highlight of the tournament so far, defending champion Shimizu and world ranking leader Sandra Sanchez of Spain met in an outstanding clash. The big winner of the 2016 Karate 1-Premier League from Spain presented a high level performance, but Kiyou Shimizu confirmed her star status and qualified for her second final in a row.

Spain vs Japan in Male Kata

The Male Kata competition was just as thrilling, with plenty of favourites trying to shine in the top event of the sport. Showing a flawless performance, Spain’s Damian Quintero qualified for his first final in World Championships, thus confirming his condition of world ranking leader. The European champion defeated on his way to final current silver medallist Ilja Smorguner of Germany, as well as Egypt’s Ahmed Shawky to try to put a golden finishing touch to a sensational season.

Current world champion Ryo Kyuna extended Japan’s success in the first day, and earned a spot in the final after presenting an outstanding performance in Linz. The 26-year old karateka hopes to continue the Japanese domination in the category, so to earn his second consecutive gold medal. Kiruna starred in one of the biggest clashes of the day, the semi-final against two-time world champion Antonio Diaz of Venezuela. In a split decision, Kiruna defeated the Venezuelan hero after two magnificent katas.

Japan continued shinning in Kumite

The fruitful participation of representatives from the birth nation of the sport continued in the Kumite categories. Japan’s Ryutaro Araga confirmed the forecast and qualified for the final bout in Male Kumite- 86kg in a dominating performance. The Japanese Karate Star beat Venezuela’s Cesar Herrera in the semi-final so to make it to his first final in World Championships.

Azerbaijan’s Aykhan Mamayev became other of the big names of the day after qualifying for the title-deciding bout of the championships. The fifth placed in the world ranking shocked current world champion Gogita Arkania of Georgia in the pool tree round, and confirmed his ticket to the final following his victory over France’s Kenji Grillon.

Japanese representation also succeeded in Female Kumite

The third ticket to the final for Japan was earned in Female Kumite +68kg. Japanese Ayumi Uekusa closed the impressive day for the representatives of the Asian country after reaching the key match following her victory over Hamideh Abbasli of Iran.

Uekusa’s rival in the final will be Eleni Chatziliadou of Greece. The young karateka produced other big upset of the day after making it to the title-deciding bout in her second appearance in major international competitions.    

Upcoming sensations in Male Kumite +84kg

The gold medal of Male Kumite +84kg will be decided between two young rising stars, Achraf Ouchen of Morocco andSajad Ganjzadeh of Iran. The 2015 World Junior, Cadet and U21 Championships gold medallist from Morocco reached the final clash after beating Belarus’ Andrei Grinevich, and made history for his country.

“It is a great feeling to be in the final and represent Morocco, since it is a big achievement for Moroccan Karate to be in the final of senior world championships,” commented Ouchen. “My intention is presenting a good image of Moroccan karate and do my best.”

As a debutante in World Championships, Iran’s Sajad Ganjzadeh broke all forecasts and made it to the last bout of the event. Iranian upcoming karateka beat Haris Sujkovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina thus continuing the traditional good performances of Iranian Karatekas in world championships.

Hosts’ dream made true

Austria’s Alisa Buchinger gave hosts many reasons to celebrate as the local star made it to the final of Female Kumite -68kg. The celebrations on the Austrian side were double since the 24-year old achieved her biggest success on her birthday. The Salzburg-born athlete used the home ground factor and the support from family and friends from the stands to defeat Marina Rakovic of Montenegro in the semi-final so to make her Karate dream come true.

“I can’t describe my feelings; it is my biggest wish and now it came true, and in my birthday it is the best present that I could give myself,” declared the European championships runner-up. “It was great, I had great fights so far, and I hope that I can continue like this and get my gold medal on Sunday,” said Buchinger.

The other finalists is Katrine Petersen from Denmark. The Danish karateka beat Gitte Brunstad of Norway in the semi-final so to achieve the second final of her career.

Fierce competence in Male Kumite -75kg

The Male Kumite -75kg competition did not disappoint and became one highlight of the event as top karatekas clashed in spectacular bouts. Superstar Rafael Aghayev confirmed his status as one of Karate’s biggest legends after reaching his seventh final in World Championships. The four-time gold medallist defeated Aliasghar Asiabari of Iran in a disputed bout, thus increasing his outstanding tally. In his quest to a fifth gold medal, Rafael Aghayev aims at continue signing historic performance as one of most awarded Karatekas of all times.

Omar Abdel Rahma of Egypt. The young karateka completed the impressive day for Egyptian delegation, and after his two medals this season in Karate 1-Premier League, the rising figure will try to dethrone one of Karate’s biggest heroes. The young Egyptian upset current silver medallist Luigi Busa of Italy to qualify for the final.

The bronze medal quest in the category will also be one moment to follow for fans since two of the top athletes of today’s Karate, runner-up Busa and USA star Thomas Scott will meet in an anticipated bout.

Start of Para-Karate competition

The first day of action in Linz also served to showcase the always inspiring Para-Karate competition. The Para-Karate athletes demonstrated their impressive abilities and amazed fans with the katas of the Intellectually impaired category.

Source: www.wkf.net

The Rwanda National Volleyball Team  for women had started out well  in African Volleyball Championship U23 by defeating National team of Senegal on last Sunday sets 3-1 (26 – 28 / 25 – 17 / 25 – 14 / 25 – 19).

Five National Teams Kenya, Egypt, Botswana, Rwanda, Senegal are present in Nairobi, Kenya, where the competition is taking place from 23 to 27 October 2016.

The next match of Rwanda National Team is scheduled for Tuesday 25 October 2016 against Egypt.

The Rwandan athlete Nyirarukundo salome has won for the second consecutive year the gold medal at the international semi-marathon (21km), Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania into 1h11min34secs;  her compatriot Iranzi Celine finished the 6^th in 1h15min40secs.

This annual competition which took place on Friday 14 October 2016 had attracted the athletes of renowned international of Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania and Rwanda which has been represented by three athletes; two girls and one boy.

The Tanzanian Gabriel Gerald in men’s category won the gold medal in 1h01min49secs while the rwandans Sebahire Eric finished the 12^nd within 1h04min.