Karate:Ten leave for world championships |19 July 2014

The Seychelles Shukokai Karate School will be sending a delegation of 10 athletes to the World Karate Championships to be held from July 20-25, in Sun City, South Africa.

The delegation includes 10 senior athletes among them one female karateka, as well as five students aged between 12 and 17 years.

Sensei Christopher Esparon, who is also the head of the delegation, told Sports Nation that although they have won medals in the past, this year medal opportunities will be difficult as seven out of the 10 athletes will be competing in an international competition for the first time.

He added: “The older athletes are the most probable to come out with a medal as they have more experience, but we are using this competition to give our younger athletes some international exposure.”

The athletes who will be making the trip along with Sensei Esparon are Sensei Bernard Cafrine, Shujetha Chettiar, Bernard Thérésine, Ahmad Pillay, Sebastian Herminie, Terrence Anderson, Vince Chetty, Shawn Hoareau and Trevor Maria.

This will be Seychelles Shukokai Karate’s fourth involvement in these championships. In 2008 in Finland, Gretel Valentin won a silver medal in the kumite for Seychelles.

The only other medal won by Seychelles at the world championships is a bronze medal in 2004 in South Africa through Bernard Cafrine in the kata competition.

S. N.