Gqeberha karatekas retain national title after huge medal haul

The Madibaz karate squad celebrate their gold-medal performance at the University Sports South Africa tournament in Durban.

The fancied Madibaz karate team held their nerve to emerge University Sports South Africa’s national champions for the second year running recently.

Despite finishing second in both the full and semi-contact divisions, Mandela University did enough across the board to retain the gold medal in Durban.

The full-contact team of 12 karateka aced the kata, clicker and kumite categories to bring home six gold, three silver and seven bronze medals from KwaZulu-Natal.

Meanwhile, the semi-contact squad of eight racked up an impressive 24 medals to double their haul from last year.

“After finishing third last year, our goal in the semi-contact division was to raise the bar,” the latter’s coach, Adré Weideman, said.

“There’s always pressure when you have high-performing students, several of whom with national colours.”

The Gqeberha institution fielded a reduced squad to focus on maximising performances.

“We emphasised quality over quantity. Every team member stepped up and won multiple medals, which made a huge difference in the overall standings.”

Weideman said they started preparing months ago and made sure athletes focused on the events they would be entering.

“The strategy was to compete in as many as possible and target multiple medals per athlete.”

She also highlighted the significance of the USSA stage for student-athletes.

“For many, this is their one opportunity to perform on a national platform. That alone provides great motivation to give it everything.”

Full-contact mentor Sango Mbinyashe echoed her sentiments while praising the resilience of his squad.

“Being the defending champions added pressure, but we never wavered. They showed tremendous skill and determination.”

A shaky start on day one only strengthened the team’s resolve, no doubt thanks to the ongoing tactical meetings between sensei Masixole George and co-captains Senpai Sinazo Kunene and Senpai Busisiwe Ngwane.

“There were a few hiccups early on, but that just sharpened our focus for day two,” Mbinyashe said. “The medal count speaks for itself.”

He said they would now review their strengths and any shortcomings to ensure further development of the team.

“This victory is a stepping stone, not the final destination.”

Semi-contact stars Arden Harris, Luchay Weideman and Lemuel Kramer, who won a gold and bronze medal, were selected for the provisional SA squad to compete at the FISU Games in Brazil next year.

Full-contact highlights

Bonga Maxama | Gold in advanced team kata, bronze in men’s open weight clicker, silver in men’s open weight kumite

Sinazo Kunene | Gold in advanced team kata, gold in women’s advanced kata, silver in women’s U65kg clicker, bronze in women’s U65kg kumite

Busiswe Ngwane | Gold in team kata, bronze in women’s advanced kata, gold in women’s open weight kumite

Sonwabiso Putulu | Gold in men’s U80kg clicker, bronze in men’s U80kg kumite.

Natasha Gontshi | Gold in women’s development kata, silver in women’s U55kg clicker, bronze in women’s U55kg kumite

Semi-contact

Luchay Weideman | 2 golds, 3 silvers; Arden Harris | 2 golds, 2 silvers,  1 bronze; Nezaan Swartz | 2 golds, 1 silver; Zeenat Lee | 3 golds