Tennis and badminton move aside. The latest sport to be in the limelight is karate and two young Parsi girls from Vadodara are doing the miniscule community proud by winning medals at prestigious festivals. Sisters Zinatra and Mahzarine Bonesetter, who are seven and 10 respectively, won a total of seven medals amongst them at the 8th All Gujarat Shotaokan Karate Championship, held last month. Zinatra won two gold medals in Individual Kata (forms) and Individual Kumite (fight), one silver medal in Team Kumite and one bronze medal in Individual Kumite in the age group of 7-8 years, while her sister Mahzarine won two gold medals in Individual Kata and Team Kumite and one silver medal in Individual Kumite in the age group of 9-10 years.
With more 600 boys and girls karatekas of various ages participating from all over Gujarat, the feat by the sisters left everyone amazed. They have now been selected for the Nationals to be held in Mumbai on 31st of January next year at the Andheri Sports Complex, where there will be a seven day camp. The tournament will be conducted by the Japan Karate Association to commemorate completion of 30 years by J.K.A.I. (Japan Karate Association of India).
Eight times world champion and grand master 8(tm) Dan Black Belt, Shihan Tanaka will especially fly down to India along with 7th Dan Shihan Shoichi Sasaki to train the karatekas of India. Currently Zinatra and Mahzarine are undergoing training under coaches Sensai
Rajnikant Salat and Sensai Mahesh Rawal at Vadodara