Zainab Saleh karate tourney returns for 10th edition

The 10th edition of the Zainab Saleh International Female Open Karate Championship began on Friday, October 18 at the Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

Founder Zainab Saleh revealed this to journalists at a press conference organised at the conference room of the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

The championship which has been held every year since 2014 except 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, aims to also create awareness of what young girls can benefit from karate.

“I wanted to provide a platform for female karatekas to showcase their skills and develop their technical abilities,” Saleh told journalists in Lagos.

“I believe that a woman should have the skills to defend herself, and karate is one of the best ways to achieve this.”

Prizes will be presented to the first, second, and third-place winners in the Kata and Kumitae categories across the senior, junior, cadet, U-14, and U-12 (10-11) weight classes at the end of the competition.

A chairperson of the Lagos State Karate Association, Saleh, said the competition has contributed greatly to the growth of karate in Nigeria.

“The championship has contributed to the growth of women’s karate in Nigeria because quite a few of our female athletes have been selected for Nigeria’s national team through this event, not to mention one of its participants, an athlete from Benin Republic, who has been a competitor of this championship from inception and has competed at the world level,” she said.

Over the years, the championship has produced notable athletes, including Gennario Ocean from Benin Republic, who has participated in the World Karate Championships, and Rita Ossoni, who has won bronze medals at the African Karate Federation events.

Despite its success, the championship has faced significant challenges, particularly sponsorship. Saleh has shoulder the sponsorship burden alone, supported by her family.

“Corporate bodies are only fascinated with football, but karate needs investment to grow,” Saleh said.

“It is always not encouraging when the corporate bodies are only fascinated by just football; they will say karate is not a viewing sport. If you don’t invest in it, how will it be a viewing sport? We have rich people in this country; let them come and see what we are doing in karate and see how they can help us.”

Lagos State Karate Coach Soyooye Sola Sunaka expressed enthusiasm for the event, saying, “It will be explosive, with countries like Togo and others participating. Through the Zainab Saleh competition, we have discovered many female karatekers.”

The event’s schedule includes a referee course and examination on October 18, followed by the main championship on 19 and 20 October. The finals and closing ceremony will take place on Sunday, 20 October.