The five Malagasy fighters arrived in Athens, Greece, yesterday morning, to compete in the international Karate 1 Series A competition. The delegation led by French technician Shihan Georges Hafizou was finally able to leave the country on Wednesday, after a few days of suspense. No respite, Nancy Maria Luciana Ravahamantasoa and Soary Jessica Raboanaritompo, entered respectively in the +68kg and -68kg category, will get on the tatami today. The three other girls, namely Fenosoa Rakotobe (-50kg), Tsiky Mialy Fanomezantsoa Andrianavalona (-55kg) and Karine Elodie Razafimboninahitra (-61kg), will be in action tomorrow. They only compete in kumite. “They are our best karatekas, no less gold medalists at the Island Games. They further confirmed their status during the national summit in Toamasina. After intensive preparation, we hope that our representatives will bring us good results,” said the new National Technical Director, Christian Rajaonarison. In fact, nine karatekas were initially supposed to participate in this tournament. But according to the explanations, Gaëlle, Patrick, Brandon and Christian Finoana are not registered in the world quotas, after the change in the world karate ranking in recent months.
Manjata Razafy
