By MWANGALA LISELI –

THE Sports Council of Zambia (SCZ) has commended the judokas for minting 18 medals during the Southern Africa Union Sports Council Championship (SAUSCC) held in Swaziland.
SCZ chairperson Mwamba Kalenga applauded the judokas for putting the country on the global map by doing well at the tournament where they won 13 gold, four silver and a bronze medal.
Kalenga said the SCZ was impressed with the attitude and unity prevailing in the Zambia Judo Association (ZJA) as evidenced by the good performances of the athletes.
He said this in Lusaka yesterday when the judokas, led by ZJA president Alfred Foloko, presented the various medals to the SCZ at the National Sports Development Centre (NASDEC).
Kalenga, a good governance advocate, said the SCZ will ensure that it creates an enabling environment for upcoming judokas to perform better in coming championships.
He said the upcoming judokas needed to be prepared well so that they too could bring more honours to the country.
“This is the time to prepare future judokas so that they could bring more honours to the country. Our time has come to an end and it is now time for us to prepare these upcoming judokas,” he said.
Kalenga said the SCZ was impressed that the ZJA was not experiencing any wrangles as was the case with some associations.
Foloko said he was pleased with the performance by the judokas and especially the senior judokas who earned qualification to the African Judo Championship scheduled for Gabon.
He urged the judokas to work hard so that they continue bringing medals to the country and thanked the sponsors for their support during the SAUSCC.