Judo brothers’ impress at commonwealth

When they created the saying ‘it runs in the family’, they had Moagi and Oabile Molefe in mind.

Moagi (20) and Oabile (16) started judo at a very young age and are now both skilled judokas training at the KJK Judo Club in Manufacta. They have recently had a life-changing experience in their journey of representing the country in the Commonwealth Judo Championships in Malta.

During the championships, Oabile impressed everyone by bringing home the gold and being crowned the Commonwealth Champion in his group category of 66kg. Moagi also performed admirably, finishing third in the 73kg weight group.

According to Moagi, the experience was worth its weight in gold, and it was another step from their everyday judoka practices.

“It was an amazing experience to have, and the competition featured countries such as Scotland, Northern Ireland, India, and England; therefore, it gave us more exposure in terms of international competitions,” Moagi said.

On May 11, they also competed in the West Rand Judo Grand Slam. The Grand Slam is a qualifying competition for participation in the South African Open Championship set to take place in July, and they once again claimed victory and dominated the competition. In this particular competition, Oabile won gold in his category for fighting two Nage Kata medals and one Kime medal, and Moagi took home one gold medal.

Katja Bruwer, head coach and founder of the club, mentioned that she has always been proud of the brothers, and Moagi in particular has a history of winning numerous SA Championship titles and has represented SA previously.

“Oabile had a tough year when he was in a new age category, but as the year progressed, he became stronger. It was a very special moment that both of them could attend the event in Malta together,” she said.

Their advice to upcoming judoka is simple, “Sport is not always about winning but it is achieving the goals you have set for yourself as an individual.”