In an effort to seek his blessings and to acquaint him with the inner-workings of the sporting outfit, the President of the Sierra Leone Karate Federation, Shihan Victor Amara, on Thursday, 23rd May, 2024, presented 40 medals to the Executive Director of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Dr. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai Esq, at his Signal Hill Road Office.
The medals were won at the Mano River Union Championship hosted at the Bintumani International Conference Center in Freetown in February this year. The items of recompense included 18 gold, 14 silver, and 8 bronze.
Speaking at the meeting, President Amara congratulated Dr. Abdulai on becoming the new NSA Boss. “We are here for you to bless these medals and to tell you more about our discipline. We want you to know that the Mano River Union Championship was funded by Government through the NSA. We are grateful for that.
“We appreciate your appointment and are ready to work with you and your team, ” he said, revealing that Sierra Leone is ninth on the African Karate ranking table.
Extending the combat sport beyond the gymnasium, Shihan Amara said they have taken Karate to schools and are currently in talks with the administration of Milton Margai University to commence courses on martial art.
Responding while scanning the faces of young athletes, Dr. Abdulai said one of the things they are looking forward to doing is to encourage young people to engage in sports.
“What I see today amazes me a lot. I am very pleased seeing young people happy. We express our immense gratitude to you for this feat. You are not just participating, but winning. You are on the right trajectory.
“My tenure is about developing talents locally. This will exclude them from taking drugs,” he told President Amara, while narrating his background in karate and his love for the sport.
Beyond sport, Dr. Abdulai said they are looking closely into the need of providing scholarships to high performing athletes, as one of his development drives is to build capacity. He urged the Federation to take karate out of the confines of Freetown.
“To help sell our sports, I have held conversations with the managements of AYV and SLBC to be covering our national competitions live.
“Regarding your request for our input in terms of facility, we will put forward a proposal to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to help build facilities for your association,” he pointed out.
Shihan Amara climaxed the acquaintance and blessing-seeking meeting by donating a customized dispenser to NSA, as a token of their appreciation.
NSA Media