Judo team seek to improve on their last performance in 2015

The Kenya Judo team is projecting to improve on the 2015 Brazzaville performance with a harvest of at least three gold medals at the All Africa Games set for between August 16 and 31 in Rabat, Morocco.

In 2015, the judo team raked in three medals that included one silver and two bronze honours. Female judoka Esther Ikiugu garnered the silver medal in the U57kg category as Elvis Nato (U90kg) and Peterson Gathiru (U66kg) settled for bronze.

From the three 2015 medallists, only Ikiugu is part of the Rabat-bound contingent of 11 judokas. Nato has since hanged his belt while Gathiru is out of the team on personal commitments. Ikiugu, now competing in U-63kg, leads the women’s team which comprises of her Kenya Prisons teammates Diana Kana (U-70kg), Shagila Odacho (U-78kg) and Ongata Rongai Judo Club’s Kimberly Okwisa- (U57kg).

Kana, who is making her third appearance at the quadrennial bonanza is keen to improve her fifth-place finish at the last edition as she eyes gold medal in North Africa.

“I want to hit two birds with one stone. I have been training well since the beginning of the year and I'll be calm and composed to hit gold and gather enough Olympic points to boost my Tokyo 2020 qualifications,” said Kana.

Team manager Mwadime Mghanga said Kenya’s biggest threats for both men and women will come from Algeria, Tunisia, hosts Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Senegal and Cameroon. On her part, Kana intimated that challengers in her weight category will mainly come from Tunisia and Morocco.

She is particularly plotting revenge on Moroccan Asmaa Niang who beat her at the 2015 AAG and June 2017 Africa Championships. The Moroccan, who is also Africa’s top seed in U70kg and world number five, has on the two occasions knocked out Kana through the Uchi Mata technique.

“I have been practising the counter-attack for Uchi Mata technique which Niang has been using against me and I am competent enough to take her head-on,” added the Eregi Girls alumni.

The men’s line-up is made up of Carlos Atieno (U-60kg), Samson Wambi ( U-81kg), John Nderitu (U-66kg0, James Mashobo (U73kg), Johnson Kirimi (U-90kg), Joseph Mwangi (U100kg) and George Kimani (U-100kg).

“We have prepared the judokas well and I think three gold medals will not be a mean achievement. AAG is also continental Olympics qualifiers so most countries will parade their elite Judokas in attempts to qualify,” averred Mghanga who noted that the remaining bit is polishing on speed in attack and techniques application.

Mghanga also intimated that the judokas’ skills, the psychology of winning, weight and injury management, power, attack and counter applications and groundwork techniques are well aligned.