by The selection criteria used to select the recently announced PNG karate team for the XV Pacific Games has come under scrutiny by former Kyokushin champion and Erima Dojo head instructor Sempai Bernard Soari, Post Courier (June 10, 2015) reports.
Sempai Soari, a Shodan in Kyokushin Karate and 3 times World Tournament representative, said the recently announced team included athletes that never took part in national tournaments or attended training at the High Performance Training Center (HPTC).
He said the final selection leaves a lot to be desired as athletes that have met the criteria have been left out. Soari said:
Of course I am not happy because Kyokushin karate has only one athlete, and the other, Atomu Amani, has been dropped.
This may seem like sour grapes but I believe there has been a grave injustice in the system of management.
Soari said why Atomu was left out does not make sense as he is the top rated fighter in the 75kg division. He also called on the PNG Karate-do Federation to reimburse all expenses Atomu has incurred and time sacrificed to come to Port Moresby for training:
Karate PNG must now repay the costs for Atomu who spent his own money to come to Port Moresby from Kavieng and sacrificed a lot of time and effort for nothing.
Soari also queried why 90% of the national team was from one karate organization in the country.
