– Hope Secondary School tops IKO club competition
PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali met with head of IKO Guyana Jeffrey Wong and his team at State House on Tuesday to get their plans for the sport.
President Ali pledged financial support to the group for the purchase of training mats and for infrastructural upgrades at Hope Secondary School on the East Coast of Demerara, where the academy trains several young people.
He further announced that the school’s tarmac will be outfitted with basketball, badminton, and tennis facilities to support youth development.
The Head of State also committed to collaborating with the group to implement its plan to introduce karate in schools and community spaces across the country.
Meanwhile, the International Karate Organization Academy Guyana over the weekend held their club competition at the Muslim Youth Organization compound.
Female Karateka Ebony Moore demonstrated her fighting skills over the weekend to lead her Hope Secondary School Karate Club to the International Karate Organization Academy Guyana Inter Club title.
Ebony Moore got her club’s campaign going in the female Kata getting the better of club mates Athalia Douglas and Kathleen Gill to take first place.
The top male fighter was Kayin Yarde from IKO Linden.
Yarde showed knowledge and skill of his Kata craft to defeat Hope Secondary’s Prince James and fellow Lindener Renaldo Fecker.
In the Kumite category, Moore rose to the challenge again, defeating all opponents including top rival Kathleen Gill and Saraphina De Jonge to finish with the gold medal.
The men’s Kumite group was also won by IKO Linden’s Yarde who had to see off the test from Prince James and Ezequiel Singh.
Hope Secondary, after copping two gold, four silver, and three bronze medals, took home the best overall club honour with IKO Linden in second place with two gold medals one silver medal with IKO Georgetown coming in third.