KUALA LUMPUR - National karate coach R. Puvaneswaran is pleased with the good signs shown by his charges during their ongoing training stint in Kazakhstan, ahead of the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Paris from June 11-13.
The two-time Asian Games gold medallist said that after completing high-altitude training at the Akbulak Olympic Centre, at the foothills of the Ili Alatau Mountains, the team are now continuing preparations at Alexeyevka (Akkol) in northern Kazakhstan.
“The high-altitude training is to improve our aerobic capacity. Training in high-altitude places has very high potential to improve athletes’ endurance.
“Now the final phase will be focused on techniques, tactics, accuracy and precision skills till we depart for Paris on June 8,” he told Bernama when contacted today.
2014 Karate World Cup champion R. Sharmendran (men's under 75kg), 2018 Asian Games bronze medallist S. Prem Kumar (men’s under 67kg) and Asian Junior Championship silver medallist P. Madhuri (women’s kumite under 55kg category) left for the biggest landlocked country in the world on May 12.
Puvaneswaran said that in Kazakhstan, the trio also got to test their skills against exponents from nine other countries, including Chile, South Korea, France, Guatemala, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
“The three exponents performed well during simulation sparring with other opponents. I do not want to put any high expectations and pressure on them in Paris.
“They have been performing well since the beginning. I just want the athletes to perform their best. I think we can see great results if they perform at a high level,” he added.
About 800 exponents are expected to battle for the 24 Olympics tickets on offer at the final qualification tournament, to be held under the bubble concept with strict restrictions. Only the top three exponents from each category will make it to the Tokyo Games.
The combat sport, which is making its debut at the Olympics, is scheduled to be held from Aug 5-7 at the iconic Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. - Bernama. May 31, 2021
