Mophuting lands elite sponsorship
Botswana’s 18 - year old karate sensation Kagiso Mophuting has vowed to improve on his performances in the next years following his success in being awarded the Botswana National Sports Commission ( BNSC) Elite Scholarship.
Mophuting, who is a national team athlete, has been awarded an BNSC Elite Scholarship to study in Australia where he will be pursuing a Bachelor Degree in Psychology at the University of Melbourne for four years. In addition, he will get the opportunity to train with Sensei Con Kassis, who is in the World Karate Federation ( WKF) Technical Commission as a Chairperson. The 18 year Kanye native is expected to leave in January 2021 to commence his studies and karate training.
“I’m truly thankful for the support and this opportunity. The news of the scholarship is a moment of happiness but most of a relief that something good has come out of a decade of hard work, dedication and failure. This means that my karate journey will be taken to the next stage, a world class level. I will be training with the best there, so all I can say is I will only get better from here. In future if you keep up with karate news, you should expect to hear my name more often than not, as well as more medals,” said Mophuting.
BNSC Elite Scholarship is aimed at helping excelling athletes to further their academic studies outside the country while also sharpening their skills and knowledge in their respective sports. Mophuting joins fellow karatekas, Khaya Groth and Thabang Setshego who are also beneficiaries and studying in United Kingdom and Malaysia respectively.
Hailing from Kanye, Mophuting started karate in 2009, then as a seven- year old boy at Thorn
hill Primary School. Training under the Bakwadi Karate Academy which practices Hayashi- Ha Shito Ryu style of karate, Mophuting has enjoyed a fair of success ever since he joined karate years back. Specialising in Individual Kata, Mophuting’s success covers national, zonal, continental and world events something which proves he is indeed a dynamite in the making. Under the tutelage of coaches; Shihan Mpho Bakwadi and Sensei Ofentse Bakwadi, Mophuting landed in the national team setup in 2017 and since then he has never looked back as he rakes in a lot of medals from various competitions. Since 2012, he has ranked a total of 18 medals: nine gold, eight silver and one bronze in the Botswana National Karate championships. Going further outside the borders the 18 - year old Kanye native had his fair success at
AUSC Region 5 Karate championships, winning 3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze from 2017- 2019. From 2013- 2014, Mophuting was also a competitor at the Cape Town Open where he registered only 1 gold, 1 silver and bronze during the tenure. He also has in his cabinet Africa and commonwealth trophies.
His last competition was the UFAK championships in Morocco this year in February where he only managed to scoop bronze medal. Though he has dominated his peers in the tatami from a tender age, it seems like Mophuting’s success was magnified in the last three years, more especially at global level. “My best ever moment comes down to winning a bronze medal with the senior team Kata in February 2020 at the Africa Championships because I proved that I had improved a step further.” He says.