Meshack Khotha

Meshack Khotha

Shin Kyokushinkai Karate Organisation of South Africa aims to send the Japan-bound team to the High Performance Centre in Pretoria in a move to impress at the coming world tournament in October in Tokyo.

Organisation chairman Isaac "African Tiger'' Mashinini said yesterday they decided to send the 12-man squad for intensive training at the High Performance Centre because of its top training facilities.

"The squad is expected to assemble in Pretoria for two weeks' intensive training, if things go according to plan," said Mashinini.

"But the exact date will be finalised as soon as [governing body] Karate South Africa's management come back from the All Africa Games in Algeria, hopefully before the end of the month.

"The primary objective of the programme is to sharpen karateka's skills and build confidence under the qualified tutors ahead of the world championships."

Mashinini said fighters from around Gauteng had been training at the Medical University of South Africa (Medunsa) for the past two Saturdays in preparation for the international tournament.

He added that they will hold a general meeting at Medunsa on July 21 to iron out issues pertaining to the tournament.