SPORT: East duo earns medal at Commonwealth Karate Championships
Cullen Elson said his next goal was to compete in as many championships as possible to in order to improve.
Two Pretoria east Sensei claimed bronze medals at this year’s Commonwealth Karate Championships in Durban last weekend.
Cullen Elson and his Sensei Justin Du Plooy represented SA in the championships against 15 other countries.
Justin Du Plooy owns Kiritsu Karate in Pretoria East where Elson assists.
Speaking to Rekord, Elson (20) said he was pleased to finish in the medals in the Men’s U/21 Kumite -84kg.
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“The fights were intense, stressful mainly because I was competing with international competitors. Never easy when you compete in an international tournament but I am pleased that I managed to get a bronze,” he said.
Elson lost his first fight then had to beat Sri Lankan for the bronze medal.
“That fight was the longest I ever experienced; it dragged on for like 10-11 minutes. Luckily I was victorious by 17-14 points.”
He said his next goal was to compete in as many championships as possible to in order to improve.
“After winning silver at the age of 17 in 2015, injury set me back. For the next three years, I had to work extremely hard to get back up. I noticed that my technique was lacking and thanks to my trainer (Du Plooy), we worked on it and kept pushing myself,” he said.
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Elson will now compete in the senior events.
“It’s a different ball game and in the next few years, I will be competing with senior fighters.’
“Going to be a lot more intense but I think I’m ready to challenge myself at that level. My target is to win medals in every competition that’ll be entering. For me it’s all about experience and improving,” Elson said.
Photo: Supplied
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