Bakwadi earns Kata Judge A qualification

THABANG REGOENG

Botswana Karate Association (BOKA) vice president technical, Mpho Bakwadi has obtained a World Kata Judge A qualification at the recently hosted World Championships in Linz, Austria to add on to his already impressive list of accolades.
A minimum of two competitions at a Black Karate Federation (BKF) level, the referee course must be attended to obtain this qualification, a minimum of 90 % in theory and a practical examination at a BKF Championships. Despite the shortcomings of the Botswana Karate senior team at the World Championships, Bakwadi’s accolade makes him the first Kata judge locally to obtain the highest grade in officiating.
“It has been an eventful year for BOKA and this accolade goes to show that the association is doing everything in its power to develop both karatekas and officials in international competitions. For me attaining the World Kata judge A, qualification is a big honour because the course entails one to go to through complex practical examination and theoretical exams,”Bakwadi told Gazette Sport.
The 1995 All Africa Games gold medalist’s  tenure in the sports started in 1985,went on to acquire the famed Dan Black belt, becoming the youngest Motswana to obtain a black belt status at that time.
Reflecting on BOKA’s achievements this year, the Harare Zone 6 Championships triumph and the impressive individual performances of the likes of Lame Hetanang and Thato Malunga, Bakwadi was happy about how the year unfolded for the association.
“We hosted about three local championships this year, which we used to spot talent across all regions of the country, also Botswana won the regional Zone 6 championships earlier this year. Besides the cancelled championships in South Africa, we had athletes competing in WKF championships as far as Croatia and Australia,”Bakwadi stated.
Meanwhile, BOKA’s event calendar will come to an end on the 3rd of December with the annual local clubs championships for preparation of next year’s January elections.