A Ghanaian athlete (right) in action at the championship
The Ghana national Karate Do team has returned from the Africa Karate Championship in Kigali, Rwanda.
In all, five athletes and three officials who participated in the championship, from August 29 to September 3, returned to Accra on Thursday.
Team Ghana comprised Emmanuel Adjei (75kg), Victor Lartey (Kata), Felix Annan (+84kg), Dickson Acolatse (-60kg) and Haruna Yusif (Kata & Kumite 50kg), with Frank Danso Bekoe (Coach) and Patrick Anyidoho Cofie (Secretary General) making up the squad.
Ghana participated in both Kata and Kumite and in both events, lost out after the second round, thus missing out on the medal zone.
In all, 25 African countries took part in the exciting senior and junior championship which was won by Egypt, with Algeria placing second.
Morocco was third, South Africa was fourth and Cameroun placed fifth.
Host nation, Rwanda got the fair play trophy and handed over the UFAK flag to Botswana, the next host.
Mr. Melvin Brown, President of the Ghana Karate-Do Federation said the competition was of a very high level and many nations are getting serious with the sport.
He said even though Ghana did not progress to the medal zone, the event was a great exposure to the team.
He noted that financial problems and lack of exposure were the main problems facing his federation.
Mr. Melvin appealed to the government and other corporate bodies to come to their aid.
He said Karate has been approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take part in the next Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan and appealed to well meaning Ghanaians to support the sport.
Melvin Brown thanked Citydia Group, Bond Finance and the Ministry of Youth & Sports for sponsoring their trip. –GNA
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