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Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
LOCAL judokas have something to look forward to this weekend as the Japanese Ambassador Judo Cup is set to take place at Hartmann House School tomorrow. This will be the third edition of the tournament which was launched in 2016 as Japan continue to provide a helping hand to try and grow the sport locally.

Judo Association of Zimbabwe president, Smart Deke, said they were excited about the event, which marks the commencement of their 2018 competitions.

“This year we have a lot of tournaments that we are preparing for. We are giving the athletes two months of preparing, so we are expecting a good show because most athletes are going to give their best.

“We have the Africa Judo championships in June, the African Youth Games in Algeria and the Region Five Games in December to be held by Botswana.

‘’So this is going to be one of the biggest tournament where we are going to select talented athletes,” said Deke.

The national association has been on a drive to spread the sport that has been mainly prevalent in Harare to other provinces and Deke said with the assistance they were getting from the Japanese they are excited about the future.

“We launched it in 2016 so this is our third year running the tournament and we are also pushing it to be a regional tournament. I have been discussing with other heads of judo in the region that we want this tournament to be a regional event.

“The reason being that judo started in Japan and we are getting a lot of support from the Government of Japan in terms of growing the sport,’ said Deke.

The JAZ president believes with the 2020 Olympic Games being hosted by Japan they stand to benefit more from such events as they are also looking at qualification for