NOEL Nkoranyabahizi, the coach of the national karate team, has trimmed his provisional roster from sixty to 43 karatekas, for preparations ahead of the 2018 Africa Karate Championship  scheduled for August 28 through September 2 in Rwanda.

In April, the coach had named an initial 60-member squad for early preparations.

According to Nkoranyabahizi, the forty-three martial artists will keep doing non-residential preps until mid-July when he will name an ultimate 40-karateka team to embark on residential camp for final preparations.

"We are progressing well with training and assessing players, in both junior and senior categories. I strongly believe we will get able players for the African championship,” Veteran Nkoranyabahizi told Times Sport in an exclusive interview yesterday.

The 16th edition of the UFAK Africa karate competition was hosted in Yaoundé, Cameroon last year when Tunisia dominated the competition to emerge as overall winners of the annual continental showpiece with a total 19 medals; 7 gold, 5 silver, and 7 bronze.

Meanwhile, the 3rd Africa Youth Games 2018 will be held in Algiers, Algeria from 19-28 July 2018.

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