Judokas, Karatekas compete at Accra sports stadium
Opportunity beckons judokas and karatekas across the country as they look to impress national coaches this Saturday at the Japanese Ambassador's Karate and Judo Championships at the Accra Sports Stadium.
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The two-day open championships, which climax on Sunday, forms part of the week-long Japanese Week Celebrations .
It will see over 200 athletes battling it out in various weight categories for medals, as well as coveted spots in the respective judo and karate national teams.
Launching the 2015 Japanese Week Celebrations last Friday at his residence, the Japanese Ambassador Kaoru Yoshimura, urged Ghanaians to throng the national stadium to catch a glimpse of the demonstration of Japanese culture through sports.
In an interview after the launch, the president of the Ghana Judo Association, Emmanuel Tetteh, said athletes who are 13 years and above would compete in seven weight categories in judo., "There will be contests in seven categories; 60kg, 66kg, 73kg, 81kg, 90kg, 100kg and 100 plus. Our cadets who are aged below 18 years will also use the event to prepare for the Junior Olympics", he explained.
The President of the Ghana Karate Do Federation, Melvin Brown, expressed gratitude to the Ambassador for offering Ghanaian karatekas the opportunity to compete regularly at a yearly tournament.
"We are grateful to the Japanese Embassy because this will be our first major championship after the All Africa Games, and we are hoping our athletes will improve their standards with more of such competitions," Mr Brown stated.
other events outlined for the Japanese Week Celebrations include screening of Japanese movies at the Silverbird cinemas and Accra Mall, a Japanese speech contest and the Yosakoi Festival which is scheduled for Saturday at the Mensvic Grand Hotel.
