MMM/Lagos Karate Tourney Throws up Olympic Hopefuls

The Lagos State / Mavrodi Mondial Movement (MMM) Under-18 Karate Championship ended at the weekend at the Rowe Park Sports Complex, Yaba, Lagos with Samchi Karate Academy of Lagos emerging champions.

Samchi Academy dazzled Karatekas from other states by winning 7 Gold, 5 Silver and 9 Bronze medals in the event which featured 16 categories.

The champions discovered at the event include gold medalists like; Jamal Akeem category 6 and under (male); Somelo Osielo category 7 to 8 (female); Odi Redah category 9 to 10 green belt (male); Hene Bassey category 7 to 8 green belt (female); Esther Ndukwe category 8 to 9 orange belt (female); Nwane Nnonye category 11 - 12 orange belt (female) and kumite.

Speaking after the event, winner in the under 15 category, Dauda Muba said: “I am very grateful to God for my victory. I am very passionate about karate and I want to thank the Lagos State government and MMM for giving me this opportunity.”

In the same vein, Organiser of the event and Founder of Samchi Karate Academy, Sensei Adejebe Samuel, stated that the objective of the tournament is to discover and nurture future talents.

“Today, Karate is an Olympic sport so the need to catch them young cannot be over-empahsised. We need to start preparing them for the Olympics so that we can help them grow and win medals for the country,” remarked Samuel who is also the coordinator Japan (Nihon) Karate-Do Seikokai Suzuki-Ha Shito-Ryu Nigeria branch.