SKSM back from London with 15 medals

Local martial arts organisation, Shotokan Karate School of Malta (SKSM), recently took part in the international Karate Open Championships which were held in London.

The squad, consisting of 13 members in junior and senior teams, have been undergoing intense training for the past six months and their efforts reaped good dividends as the Maltese earned a creditable third place overall from 38 teams, hailing from 12 countries.

Their medal haul was three gold, six silver and six bronze. The championships involved some 570 martial artists.

In Individual Kata, Lydia Schembri and Monique Zammit placed second and third respectively in the seniors Open novices. Lucienne Galea, in the Seniors Open female category (Black Belts), then made sure of top spot at the expense of a German rival.

Chris Galea competed in the Veterans Open. He landed another gold medal after finishing first in front of a British and an Irish martial artist while Samwel Schembri won the Intermediate Kata.

Another second place came from Clara Caruana and Andrew Galea in Juniors Kata. Here, participation included 47 competitors in each category.

In Individual Kumite, Michael Attard managed a bronze medal while Zammit, in the 14/15 years age bracket, secured another silver medal for SKSM.

In Team Kata, both Maltese teams produced superb displays of synchronised techniques. The minute difference in points in favour of a home team meant Lucienne Galea, Michael Grima and Michael Attard had to settle for silver. The SKSM 'B' side (Barbara Caruana, Samwel Schembri, Clara Caruana) placed third.

In the Juniors Team Kata, Kristabel Borg, Andrew Galea and Malcolm Calleja were second and in Team Kumite the seniors side achieved a joint third.