Kenya and Japan Embassy has collaborated with Kenya Judo Association and will b hosting the Japanese Ambassador’s Cup this Friday at Moi Sports Centre, Kasarani.
The event, which was call;ed the Kenya Judo Association National League has so far registered 15 clubs and 150 participants with teams from Kenya Prisons and Kenya Police, Judo athletes who have participated in championships, Kenyatta University’s Judo club and clubs from Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kiambu, Kajiado, Kwale and Kilifi counties.
Kenya Judo Association hopes to advance their techniques through this tournament to increase their chances of being considered for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“This has been Kenya’s first ever Judo Ambassador’s Cup of the 21st century. Says Ambassador of Japan to Kenya H.E Toshitsugu Uesawa.
“I look forward to witnessing some of the Kenyan Judokas who have participated in tomorrow’s event going to Tokyo in 2020 to represent Kenya. And I also hope that the Summer Olympics in Tokyo may lead to the acquisition of the first ever medal in Judo, by a Kenyan Judoka.”
This event, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Games, seeks to publicize the progress of Judo in Kenya and the commitment as well as the achievements realized through Japanese assistance to Kenya in sports and the progress of sports relations between Kenya and Japan.
The Government of Japan, through its programme, Sport for Tomorrow, which is an international contribution through sport initiative, is promoting sport to more than 10 million people in over 100 nations until 2020, the year when Tokyo will host the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Japan continues to support Kenya through sport with a focus on martial art as part of Japanese culture.
In May this year, five Kenyan Judokas, including a player who qualified for the Bronze finals at the All African Junior and Cadet Championships, represented Kenya in an International Training Camp in Tokyo, Japan in an all-expense paid trip by the Government of Japan.
Source: Capital Sports