Durban - An 8-year-old Durban girl won double gold at the South African Karate National Development Championships.
Ziya Mohanlall began karate at 3 ½ years old at Shotokan Kokusai Karatedo in South Africa, training at the Durban North Methodist Hall dojo in Broadway.
Ziya is currently a purple belt and is the youngest student at that grade in her organization.
She began entering tournaments when she was 6 years old and has thus far won 8 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 1 bronze medal.
She entered the KZN Development Championships on August 4, where she won gold for Kata and silver for Kumite.
She was selected to represent KwaZulu-Natal at the South African Karate National Development Championships held on August 23, 2019.
She bettered her performance from the last tournament by going on to win double gold (Kata and Kumite) making her the Grand Champion in her age division.
Ziya trains under Aneel Dowlath Sensei (6th Dan) who is the head coach of Shotokan Kokusai Karatedo.
Dowlath said he worked tirelessly with Ziya in the weeks leading up to the tournaments and was instrumental in Ziya’s success.
"Ziya always respects and obeys the coach’s advice and this is a contributing factor to her achievements,"Dowlath said.
Ziya is a Grade 2 pupil at Penzance Primary School and is an avid sports girl.
Aside from karate she also plays hockey, netball and cricket.
Her uncle and coach Dowlath is a 6th Dan black belt. Her aunt Prinitha Dowlath is a 4th Dan black belt. Her cousin Rahul Dowlath is a 2nd Dan black belt and her father Shalen Mohanlall is also a 2nd Dan black belt.
Daily News