Kenya Judo Federation (KJF) President, Shadrack Maluki is confident that time is ripe for Kenya to host major sporting tournaments.
This is after KJF played host to the four-day African Judo Championships held at the Kasarani Indoor Arena.
“As a country, we are proud of this moment. There were some tense minutes but after the completion of the last game and the competition was declared officially closed, it was the best moment for me,” Maluki said.
Maluki requested the relevant stakeholders including the Ministry of Sports to help Kenya host the tournament once again.
“We humbly ask for another chance to host this tournament again because we are confident we can deliver,” Maluki stated.
Maluki who also doubles as the chairman of African Judo Union (AJU) further thanked parents for allowing their kids to participate in the tournament so that their talent is nurtured from a young age.
His sentiments were echoed by the President of the African Judo Union (AJU), Sitaney Thierry who congratulated Kenya for hosting a successful competition.
“I have trust with the Kenya Judo Association to host another successful tournament in future because this is the best competition we have had for cadet and junior categories, “Thierry said.
In the just concluded games, Egypt dominated the African Judo Championships. Kenya’s judo national team came in fifth overall after bagging three silver medals and two bronze.
In the ladies category, Mary Njeri lost to Burundian Afna Shehata in the in women’s under-70 kg contest.
However, in the men’s category, Dennis Mwangi and Lewis Atieno from Kajiado and Malindi respectively won all their competitions.
Mwangi, 20, lost to Hady Hussein from Egypt in the men’s under-100 kg final.
Mwangi knocked out Amir Yaogo from Burundi in the semi-finals while Hussein bundled out South African Righardt van Rensburg.
In the other fixture, Lewis Atieno lost to Yacine Djiba from Senegal in the women’s Under-78 kg final to settle for silver.
Egypt had previously posted impressive results in the just concluded Africa Junior Cadet Championships that ended on Friday and were staged in the same venue.
They managed to collect 12 medals: Nine gold, one silver and two bronze to win the overall title.
A group of 116 judokas from 16 countries graced the two-day Africa Junior Championships.
Kenya is registered for the continental show-pieces alongside South Africa, Egypt, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Angola, Botswana, Uganda, Algeria, Guinea, Zambia and the Comoros Islands.
The championships will also serve as a qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
They will be used as a curtain-raiser to the 2022 Conakry Junior African Cup set for September 25.