Luanda: Angolan karate athletes participating in the African Zonal Region 5 competition in Luanda expressed their ambition today to represent Angola at the Olympic Games. In statements to ANGOP, athletes Tchissana dos Santos, from the youth class, and Amlia Ant³nio and Adelino Katuco, cadets, converged on their objectives, highlighting that they have been developing preparation work focused on international competitions.

According to Angola Press News Agency, both athletes won gold medals in the individual kata category on the first day of the African championship, so they are already talking about other levels of competition. After defeating South African Ava Johannes in the final, Tchissana dos Santos, with seven years of karate practice, pointed to winning a world title as her next career challenge, in a first phase, for later participation in an Olympics.

Adelino Katuco and Amlia Ant³nio also defeated South African opponents in the final, namely Robert Rijkheer and Audrey Chuo, whom they considered difficult to overcome. 'I trained a lot to win this medal,' said Adelino, who has been practicing the sport for six years with the 'Leo de Menongue' team.

On the first day of the competition, Friday, Angola won seven gold medals, one for the women's team and one silver medal for the men's team. The Zone 5 African Championship, which is scheduled to end this Saturday, brings together athletes from various countries in the southern region of the continent in the kata and kumite disciplines.