Four members of the Taneda Karate Dojo participated in the 2013 Karate Canada National Championships in Toronto from March 15 to 17 competing against competitors from across the country to compete for spots on Canada’s national Karate team. Karate is one of five sports trying to get into the 2020 Olympic Games. In the future the karate nationals would be the first step for qualifying for the Olympics.
Here is a look at how the local competitors performed.
• Jackson Tribe was competing in his second nationals had an amazing tournament. He breezed through his first three fights on his way to the final only giving up one point against him along the way. In the final he had a very tough fight against a competitor from Ontario but Tribe held on and managed to win his first National Title becoming the second person from the Taneda Karate Dojo in the last two years to win gold at the National Championships.
• Avneet Kaloty was also competing in her second nationals and fought her way through three very tough fights on her way to the finals. In the final she fought very hard against the defending Canadian champion but had to settle for the silver medal. Kaloty qualified for the National Team and can represent Canada at upcoming events like the North America Cup in Mexico and the Junior Pan-American Championships in Columbia.
• Sukhresh Kaloty was competing in his fourth nationals and first in the Under-21 age category. He had a very strong tournament, opening by winning his first fight convincingly. In his second match Kaloty ran into a strong competitor from Ontario, losing his second match. In the repechage (second chance) bracket Kaloty started fighting very well. He won his first match and then matched up against a tough fighter from Quebec. The fight remained 0-0 for the majority of the fight until Kaloty was able to take down the Quebec fighter and score with two seconds left on the clock. Kaloty then fought a fellow B.C. Team member in the match that would have put him back into the final. He would lose that fight but win the bronze medal, qualifying him for the National Team and where he can represent Canada at the North America Cup in Mexico.
• Will Wright competed in his first National Championships in a very tough division and a tough draw. Wright lost to the the eventual gold medalist in his first fight. In the repechage he won two fights before losing to the eventual silver medalist, placing him fifth.
The four athletes from the Taneda Karate Dojo were part of the 72 members from Karate BC that competed at the Nationals along with BC team coach Mike Ditson. The BC Team was in top form winning 17 Gold, 12 Silver and 20 Bronze. The 17 Gold medals is believed to be a Karate BC record.
