Zim Kickboxing Team Preps for World Championships
The Zimbabwean kickboxing team is hoping to emulate the achievements of Samson Muripo, who in 2011 won the world kyokushin championship.
The Kickboxing Association of Zimbabwe has put together its team for the 2013 World Kickboxing Championships to be held in Turkey in November. As the team includes some highly-ranked kickboxers, fans are hopeful that the team will do well. The team includes Brighton Tangata, who remains unbeaten in Zimbabwe since winning a bronze medal in the All-Africa Games in Algeria in 2007. Tangata is currently ranked number three in Africa. Also on the team are Tafadzwa Muropa, who is making his first appearance at the global kickboxing festival, and Isaac Marara, a seasoned campaigner at the African Championships. The world championships, due to start on November 2, have drawn competitors from more than 38 countries around the globe. The Zimbabwean team has already started training. The president of the Kickboxing Association of Zimbabwe, Tony Kamangira, says he may also send the squad to South Africa for additional training before the world championships. Kamangira says the Zimbabwean kickboxers will take part in practice matches in South Africa, where the training facilities are considered to be quite good. Tangata, who competed in the World Cup hosted by Brazil, says he is confident the team will bring back medals from the world championships. Murota, who is making his maiden appearance at such a level of competition, adds that he has been training hard for the championships. Kamangira, however, says there are problems that still need to be resolved. He says they do not have proper uniforms or training equipment, which has forced the Kickboxing Association to seek help from other countries. The Zimbabwean kickboxing team is hoping to emulate the achievements of  Samson Muripo, who in 2011 travelled all the way to Japan and won the world  championship after beating opponents from Japan, Switzerland, Brazil and Russia.