Karate One-Youth League Manila taps decorated women officials

Karate One-Youth League Manila officials (from L-R): Austria’s Sabrina Weiss, Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoang Ngan and China’s Ma Junting.

MANILA, Philippines–Three accomplished women officials from Vietnam, China, and Austria will take on major roles in the Karate One-Youth League Manila beginning Thursday at Mall of Asia Arena.

The four-day tournament is sanctioned by the World Karate Federation (WKF) and organized by the Karate Pilipinas Sports Federation, Inc.

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“The WKF continues to recognize the vital role that women play in promoting and propagating karate worldwide, and their competence and excellence in handling massive tournaments such as the Karate One-Youth League Manila,” said KPSFI president Richard Lim in a press release.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoang Ngan will serve as WKF tournament manager, China’s Ma Junting as chief referee, and Austria’s Sabrina Weiss as Games Management System head in the meet supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, SM Group of Companies, and the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Nguyen, 41, is a former world champion who won gold in women’s individual kata during the 2008 World Championships in Tokyo and the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. She also collected seven Southeast Asian Games gold medals for Vietnam.

Ma, meanwhile, is the first WKF-accredited international referee from China. She also served as chief referee in last month’s Karate One Premier League in Leshan, China, and is a member of the WKF Referees Commission.

Weiss, a noted entrepreneur from Austria, designed the WKF-approved scoring clicker system used in kumite competitions worldwide.

Lim said the presence of the three experienced officials should help ensure the smooth staging of the youth tournament, which runs until Sunday.

Action begins at 9 a.m. with competitions in junior boys’ and girls’ individual kata, as well as cadet boys’ kumite in the -52kg, -57kg, and -63kg divisions, and cadet girls’ kumite in the -47kg and -54kg categories.