The karate national team is known for putting up a good fight at the annual UFAK Karate Championships but at the 2022 edition, the team was below par finishing 12th out of 30 countries. The team only won one silver medal through Quinton Mosupiemang in the men’s under 75kg of the tournament held in Durban. In the previous competition, Botswana won seven medals but this time around the team failed to leave up to expectations. The team travelled to Durban in the midst of division that have rocked the Botswana Karate Association (BOKA) executive committee.

The coaching staff led by head coach, George Tshikare was accused of selecting athletes who were ranked position two or worse or those who were not ranked in the Botswana Karate League.

“In team events, they were knocked out by Morocco, a team we won against in the last UFAK championship. This is a result of favoritism when it comes to selection, picking athletes who are not top of the league and leaving out the top ranked athletes,” a source said.

The source further said it was a poor decision to give a team to coaches who do not have clubs or athletes in the senior team.In his defence, Tshikare told Mmegi Sport that he took what was available to him. He said the selection was based on the records from the league performance.

“I had a month with the team. I would have loved to take a complete team so that I can have proper assessment. That was the only way to have an idea on the kind of athletes we have. The selection was guided by the league log,” he said. Tshikare said the overall performance of the team was not bad as they gave their best performance although it was not good enough for a podium finish.

Regarding the last UFAK performance, Tshikare explained that it was a junior team and he had more time to train the squad. “Working in a new set up is not easy as most people think. There is a lot that needs to be done. I was working with new athletes and some never trained together, which alone is a serious matter that needs to be put into consideration. I had a short period of time with the team and we cannot expect miracles,” he said.

Tshikare and China Metswi were appointed interim coaches while the contracts of other coaches, Christopher Ponatshego and Keone Kgorotlhe were still running. BOKA public relations officer, Keorapetse Dube said when the interim committee took over, they were not given information about the two coaches. “Handover was controversial and they did not give us anything. We cannot discuss the contracts of those two coaches. This is the result of a handover that was not properly done,” he said. Dube said they have not terminated the two contracts because they were not aware of the terms and conditions. The team that travelled to Durban comprised of Lame Hetanang (Under 50kg and kata), Onkemetse Chepete (Under 55kg) and Lathabo Sekamo (Under 61kg) in the women’s section. Omatla Motlhale (Under 60kg), Gabriel Ramasimong (Under 67kg), Mosupiemang (Under 75kg), Oratile Caiphus (Under 84kg) and Kagiso Mophuting (kata) represented the country in the men’s category.