The DHPS judoka fought successfully at this years’ South African Open Championships in Bloemfontein / South Africa.
From 1 - 8 July the “DHPS-Namibia” team travelled to the annual event in the South African Free State province. The group consisted of newcomers Frederic von der Wense, Deik Daun and Ivanhoe Beukes, as well as experienced competitors Lieselotte Krooß, Lorenz Denk, Ricardo von Flotow, Konstantin Schindler and Sensei Sylvia Konzmann. Unfortunately, Amani Beukes had to cancel on short notice due to an injury.

The target was to improve last year's achievements and at least win four medals for Namibia and the DHPS. Especially last year’s participants had a good chance for the coveted places. Our “newcomers” had the opportunity to gain an insight and competition experience.
Many weeks of disciplined training paid off: Although they had no practical competition routine, the DHPS judoka fought bravely and successfully. The social character of this event was also noticeable. In addition to victorious battles, gaining competition points or reaching the finals, the small team soon found friends and fans, who enthusiastically cheered for them.

• Lorenz Denk could recover from his injury and bravely fought his way to the semi-finals. In 2016 he has reached a fourth place; this year Lorenz made it to the podium and took bronze.
• Frederic von der Wense was the surprise of the DHPS judoka. He joined the team only recently. He showed discipline and perseverance, even won a fight and gained a few points during the encounters.
• Deik Daun accompanied the team as the “SA Open Championship- novice”. He also managed to win a fight and some points.
• Ivanhoe Beukes, also a beginner, had to gain his first competition experience. He started in a strong group 3, where he performed well and fought long battles against his competitors. Unfortunately he lost both encounters, but gained valuable experience for next year.
• Konstantin Schindler was a little unfortunate this year. Last year's bronze medal winner was disqualified in his first battle. Still he fought very hard and won the next three fights. Unfortunately, Konstantin was de-feated in the semi-finals by a very experienced judoka and lost the bronze medal. Therefore: an unfulfilling fourth place for Konstantin.
• Ricardo von Flotow had his strongest competition year. Having suffered some bad luck last year, he won several bouts this time. Especially his strangling techniques were remarkable. He reached a fifth place overall in a fully occupied competition pool.
• Sensei Sylvia Konzmann won a gold medal in the Masters category. Particularly exciting, however, were the group 6 matches on Friday.
• Lieselotte Krooß and Sylvia Konzmann fought in the same weight- and age category for the first time. Prior to that, Lotti won an Ippon through Uchi-mata in her group 5 and won bronze. In group 6 she was less fortunate in the draw. Sylvia Konzman fought her way to the finals and won silver in the O21 group.

Congratulations to the participants and our judoka for the impressive number of medals received.

The judo team is looking forward to the 2018 SA Open Championships. The target: at least 5 medals!