CONLIG’S Amy Adair pulled out all the stops at the recent Karate Northern Ireland Open Championships, winning gold in her individual kumite (sparring) event.
Representing Ards and North Down’s Mizakura Karate Clubs in an exciting final, Amy outscored her Polish opponent, Natalia Bombolewska, to claim a well-deserved title, adding gold to the silver she collected in the international team match against winners Italy.
Angela McEvilly added to the team’s medal collection with two silvers, the first in her senior kata category and the second in the open kata section.
Megan Benson was another double-medal winner for the Ards and North Down karate clubs at the Open Championships, claiming silver in her kumite and taking bronze in the individual kata.
Levi Kane, also from Conlig, secured silver in her individual Ippon kumite, while Sydney Murdoch continues to improve at every event and collected a bronze medal in the individual kata.
In his first karate competition, Joshua Boyle claimed silver in his individual kumite – a fantastic achievement.
Northern Ireland squad member Ben Ritchie had an excellent performance in the international matches and, like Amy, was delighted with his silver from the final with the Italians.
There were a number of competitors from the Mizukara squad who also produced excellent performances, but missed out on a medal on this occasion, namely Harrison and Helena Stitt, Bella Cordner, Rachel Benson, Freya Grindle, Finn Hastings, Alicia Laines, Phoenix Murdoch, Oliver Prohaszka and Kath Stevenson.
Meanwhile, in her first event, Niamh McMullan fought bravely against a much bigger opponent and demonstrated great future potential.
Speaking after the event, coach David Brashaw said: “The KNI Open is a tough event, packed with top class karate athletes. We are very proud of all our students performances and thank their respective families for their support.
“If any local companies are interested in sponsoring our clubs, it would greatly help with our aspirations to produce more world champions for Northern Ireland and Ireland.”
The next event on the Mizukara calendar is their annual display day, which take place this Saturday
The Mizukara clubs are based in Ards, Bangor and Holywood. If you wish to know more about karate for all and Tai Chi for adults, please contact David on 07760 337578 or message Mizukara on Facebook.
