KARATEKA Sensei Shepherd Ziwira is happy his favourite sport is back after several months on the sidelines.

He is the Japan Karate Association of Zimbabwe chief instructor and Midlands Karate Union technical director.

Ziwira is credited with hosting the annual Kwekwe Invitational Karate Championship at Mbizo Youth Centre, for nine years, until Covid-19 brought things to a halt, last year.

The tournament, dubbed "Best of the Best," used to attract top karatekas from across the country.

"We had seniors like Tamuka Ziwira, Nelson Manjera, Lovemore Matune, Stan Mushambi, Smash Ndaira and Vanessa Mhlanga, whose fitness levels are encouraging, despite them having no normal trainning schedules.

"The event also had young players, like Lucky Dube (Jnr) and his young brother Lovemore, who are getting a lot of support from their parents.

"I am looking forward to continue training many people, in the sport, and I am happy that we have some parents, who are so supportive. "We were able to hold some training, with limited numbers, during the lockdown period and we are expecting to have the sport back, with many tournaments and some sponsorship, in the near future," said Ziwira.

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