Karaté   Thérésine wins bronze medal |02 September 2023

Thérésine is presented with his kumite bronze medal by the President of Madagascar, Andr Rajoelina (Photo: Patrick Joubert)

On the second day of karate competition taking place at the Mahamasina gymnasium in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Bernard Thérésine won a bronze medal for Team Seychelles yesterday.

Thérésine won his medal in the kumite -67kg category. It was the President of Madagascar, Andr Rajoelina who presented Thérésine with his bronze medal.

Drawn in a pool of three fighters, Thérésine faced Comorian Thaoura Farouk and after trailing by one point in the first minute of the three-minute round, he upped his game to win the contest on a score of 6-1.

With the win advantage, he then faced Ludovic Vitry from Reunion in the second fight. Not aggressive as he was against Farouk, Thérésine lost his fight on an 8-0 score.

Also competing in the kumite was Jules Javier who lost the -60 kg category fight on the score of 0-3 to Julien Thomas from Mauritius.

Speaking to the local press, Thérésine said the competition was OK, but the dry and cold weather had an impact on his performance as it caused him to feel tired, with stomach pain and he had difficulty breathing at times during fights.

“Because of that, I was not able to deliver my usual performance but I am very satisfied with the bronze medal I have won. The medal is very special to me and it represents my personal advancement in karate. It is my first time at the games and winning a medal is a motivator for me to keep improving for future games,” Bernard said.

The gold medal was won by Ludovic who beat Billy Andriasatantsoa in the final. The other bronze medal was won by Kushal Mohabeer from Mauritius.

In the men’s team kumite, the team made up of Andre Lucas, Philip Agathine, Martine Cedras, Philibert Agathine and David Boniface lost 1-3 to the Comorians.

After Lucas and Agathine lost the first and second fights 0-7 and 1-9 respectively, all eyes were on Cedras to reduce the score which he did by taking the first 3 points before his Comorian opponent drew level at 3-3. With the Comorian taking a 7-5 advantage in the in the second minute, Cedras fought back to score points and win the fight 10-7.

After the two days competition, Madagascar is leading the table with 10 medals – 8 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze – followed in second position by Reunion also with 10 medals – 2 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze. Also with 10 medals – 3 silver and 7 bronze – Mauritius is in third position. Comoros occupies fourth position with 3 medals – 1 silver and 2 bronze – while Seychelles sits in fifth position with 4 bronze medals.

The competition continues today with men’s and women’s kata individual, men’s and women’s team kata, and men’s and women’s team kumite.

Patrick Joubert