Going tough for karate, tennis
Namibian athletes competing in karate and tennis found the going tough in their opening matches at the African Games that are being held in Casablanca and Rabat in Morocco.
The karate team, comprised of seven athletes, started with their competition on Saturday, but none of them progressed through to the next round of the competition.
Mechelle Tjimuku, Stefan van der Merwe and Michael Nakapandi managed to get a pass in the first round of the competition, but saw their dreams of qualifying to the next round cut short, when they stepped onto the floor at the Olympic Stadium at the Moulay Abdellah sports complex.
Namakau Mwiya, Suzelle Pronk and Bryan Nakambonde were not fortunate enough to get a pass in the opening round, but also saw their hopes of winning medals for Namibia fall short, as their opponents were too strong for them.
Nakambonde was the only fighter f who managed to register a win in the individual fights in the loser section, where he was relegated to when he lost his first fight after getting a pass.
Nakambonde won his fight 5-4 against a Botswana opponent, but went on to lose in the final face-off for a spot in the bronze medal fight against Cisse Abdou Lahad of Senegal.
The karate team, coached by Marchelle De Jager, were due to compete in the men's team event on Sunday.
The tennis team also found the going tough. Only one player managed to win a match at the tennis championships, which started on Friday.
Codie van Schalkwyk, Jean-Michel Erasmus, and Gideon van Dyk all failed to make their mark at the competition, as they lost their games in the men's singles preliminary round.
Linique Theron was the only athlete who won a game, when she beat Beverly Matsiwe of Zimbabwe in her opening match of the women's singles preliminary round, but she went on to lose her second match in the round of 16 to Lamis Salama of Egypt.
The men's team was due to compete in the team event on Sunday.
NAMPA
The karate team, comprised of seven athletes, started with their competition on Saturday, but none of them progressed through to the next round of the competition.
Mechelle Tjimuku, Stefan van der Merwe and Michael Nakapandi managed to get a pass in the first round of the competition, but saw their dreams of qualifying to the next round cut short, when they stepped onto the floor at the Olympic Stadium at the Moulay Abdellah sports complex.
Namakau Mwiya, Suzelle Pronk and Bryan Nakambonde were not fortunate enough to get a pass in the opening round, but also saw their hopes of winning medals for Namibia fall short, as their opponents were too strong for them.
Nakambonde was the only fighter f who managed to register a win in the individual fights in the loser section, where he was relegated to when he lost his first fight after getting a pass.
Nakambonde won his fight 5-4 against a Botswana opponent, but went on to lose in the final face-off for a spot in the bronze medal fight against Cisse Abdou Lahad of Senegal.
The karate team, coached by Marchelle De Jager, were due to compete in the men's team event on Sunday.
The tennis team also found the going tough. Only one player managed to win a match at the tennis championships, which started on Friday.
Codie van Schalkwyk, Jean-Michel Erasmus, and Gideon van Dyk all failed to make their mark at the competition, as they lost their games in the men's singles preliminary round.
Linique Theron was the only athlete who won a game, when she beat Beverly Matsiwe of Zimbabwe in her opening match of the women's singles preliminary round, but she went on to lose her second match in the round of 16 to Lamis Salama of Egypt.
The men's team was due to compete in the team event on Sunday.
NAMPA
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