PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - It is not often that an athlete can boast nearly the same number of world championship titles under their belt as their age, but a Plettenberg Bay youngster not only did this, but managed to do so in a single tournament.
The 10-year-old karate sensation, Galliano Boni, participated in the On The Web (OTW) World Online Karate Championship over the past week where he raked in nine gold medals and a silver in the 10 categories that he entered.
This brings his total world championship titles to a whopping 17. The Greenwood Bay College learner also managed to be the top medal winner of the entire tournament.
His father Roberto Boni said this incredible victory came after a challenging second quarter of the year due to lockdown restrictions, but that the difficult period brought benefits too.
"One of them was the sudden realisation that we could train with the best in the world directly from our living room."
Boni added not only did Galliano benefit from the training "five days a week" physically, but interacting with these top athletes boosted his mental strength too. "With encouragement and dedication, he has pushed through and the results are there for everyone to see. There is absolutely no substitute for hard work."
The beeming father said lockdown also highlighted the benefits of online karate tournaments in which contestants upload a video of them doing their karate or kobudo kata before being judged by a panel of judges and without the expense of travelling to the various destinations.
The world online karate championships (as opposed to tournaments) was a world-first event, broadcast live from Malta on 5 and 6 September. "Judges all over the world judged the athletes in real time."
Boni played an instrumental role in putting together an SA team of 66 karatekas, who competed against 39 countries. "The competition was tough and the divisions were sizable. Most of the divisions included between 20 and 25 participants." With his victories, Galliano managed to boost the SA team's medal count of 11 gold, three silver and seven bronze.
"Galliano is an inspiration to his peers and karateka all over. He continues to achieve exemplary marks at school despite the very stringent schedules he has to follow training and travelling to international events," said Boni.
Galliano was awarded full Protea colours this year for Sports Martial Arts, becoming one of the youngest, if not the youngest South African, to achieve this feat as a blue belt.
Next year, the younster will represent South Africa again at three world championships in June/July and has been invited to participate in the Malta Open at the end of March.
Boni also proudly mentioned that Galliano's older brother Aligi (15) did well too, by placing in the top 10 of his black belt division.
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