Japanese Embassy donates Kendo equipment
To promote Kendo in the country, the Japanese Embassy in Malawi has donated Kendo equipment to Kendo Association of Malawi (Kam).
The embassy made the donation on Saturday during the Japanese Ambassador Kendo Championship held at Blantyre Youth Centre.
Japanese Ambassador to Malawi, Shuichiro Nishioka, said Japan was determined to play a pivotal role in promoting the growth of Kendo in the country.
“Kendo is a traditional national sport of Japan but it is developing worldwide. I am pleased that Malawi is one of the countries that practises Kendo in Africa. I understand that there are a lot of challenges for Kendo players and one of them is the lack of equipment,” he said.
“The Japanese Kendo Federation, therefore, decided to donate the equipment to Malawi. Japan will host 2020 Olympic Games, therefore we will continue to support any sport in Malawi.”
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Sports and Culture, Joseph Mwandidya, said government would also play a role in supporting the growth of Kendo in the country.
“We will support Kendo and our target is to send Kendo athletes to the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan to represent Malawi. We hope they will win medals for the country,” he said.
“I urge the youth to embrace the sport because they can make a career out of it just like athletes in other countries do. This sport has the potential to raise Malawi’s profile at the international stage.”
Kam president, Austinie Somba, said his association was buoyed by the donation.
“This will encourage us to spread the sport to other districts in the country,” he said.
Kendo has been practiced in the country for 20 years and its athletes use swords as the main weapon.
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