Asian karatekas competing in Shureido Cup
KOTA KINABALU: All eyes will be on Sabah yet again when the inaugural Shureido Cup Karate Championship takes centre stage at the Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex multi-purpose hall in Likas near here.
Organised by the Sabah Karate Association (SKA), the championship will be held from August 14-18.
The Shureido Cup will be the second international karate competition to take place here this year after the successful 18th Asian Karate Federation (AKF) Cadet Junior and U-21 Karate Championship at the same venue last month.
And SKA president Datuk Jake Jikulin Nointin vowed to make the Shureido Cup as succesful as the AKF major event.
“We have started preparations for the championship where we are expecting over 500 athletes from various countries to vie for top honours.
“Like the AKF championship, the Shureido Cup is set to become another important tournament for young karatekas from Asia.
“It (Shureido Cup) will feature categories similar to that in AKF Cadet, Junior and U-21 championship. The difference for Shureido Cup is that it will have additional categories for under-12 and under-14 for boys and girls,” he said yesterday.
Jake went on to say that the tournament would be an ideal venue to expose Sabah karatekas to top level competitions.
“The tournament will allow athletes to embark on a new level of performance.
“I hope that new changes to WKF (World Karate Federation) policies, rules and regulations, it will contribute positively to the birth of more karate athletes in the Asian region,” he added.
Towards this end, Jake thanked Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, main sponsor Shureido Co. Ltd and Malaysia Karate Federation (Makaf) for the supports given.
“On behalf of the association, I would like to thank Shureido Co. Ltd for giving this great honour and opportunity to organise the first Shureido Cup Karate Tournament in Kota Kinabalu.
“I would also like to thank the state government, especially the Chief Minister for being very supportive in ensuring the betterment of the sports facilities of karate in the state,” he said.
For further information on the Shureido Cup contact SKA secretary general Julian Chin (012-8381088), Nadia (011-1955 5359) or Iskhandar (016-881 5295).