Mushayi brims with confidence
JUDO coach Simbarashe Mushayi is confident the two athletes to represent the country at the World Championships starting next Monday in Budapest, Hungary, will give it their best shot.
Zimbabwe will field two judokas Tapiwa Pavari in the Under-60kg and Brian Chiminya in the Under-66kg - for the World Senior Individual and Teams Championships. The event ends on September 3. Mushayi and the two athletes are expected to leave for Hungary on Thursday while Judo Association of Zimbabwe president Smart Deke is set to fly out today ahead of the congress starting tomorrow. He believes they have done their best to prepare themselves for the championships and for them it’s a learning curve.
“We are good to go, the two athletes are in good shape, no injuries and if the competition was tomorrow we are ready for it. This is a big competition, as a coach you need to be positive to encourage your athletes.
“These championships are good, especially for exposure, I was an athlete before I became a coach so it’s good for them in terms of experience when they go there.
‘‘They get the experience and they can also help some other athletes and clubs when they return.
“I can say I will be expecting good results in this competition. We are just hopeful that we get the best achievement we can. We picked those two athletes because those are our best so far here that can take part in the World Championships,” said Mushayi.
Mushayi added that as the competition draws closer they are now working more on ensuring their athletes are mentally prepared since this is their first international event. “When you train it’s mainly to be very strong and sharp on the techniques. But you need focus when a lot of athletes are around and there will be a lot of countries because this is a World Championship, so we are trying to work on the mental side.
“They have to be mentally prepared and know how to handle the situation because here in Zimbabwe we do not have that exposure like to travel every month to meet and compete with some other countries, that’s our biggest challenge,” said Mushayi. The two athletes are also being assisted by Japanese coach Takumi Fujiwara who is in the country under the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Takumi is here to help the national association in their efforts to develop and promote the sport throughout the country. He said the local athletes are making some progress but there is still some work to be done to scale great heights.
“I think Zimbabwe is not strong at the moment but they are very serious on trying to take up judo. So I want to support but it’s important to train basic movements and basic knowledge . . . They are now starting to get confidence in training,” said Fujiwara.
He also noted that Chiminya and Pavari’s participation at the World Championships is important for their development. Zimbabwe will compete in the individual events only.