With the raging fire that engulfed Cape Town recently and caused so much of damage and panic within the tourist industry and nearby residential areas one would expect that the Cape Cycle Tour scheduled for Sunday, March 8 would be called off, but days before the race organisers Ok’d it, albeit  only a shortened version.
At a press conference on Wednesday, March 4 it was announced that the 109 km race would be shortened to 47 km.
Cycle Club Lenasia members were a bit desponded that the race may be called off were delighted with the announcement and determination once more set in for these riders.
The original route, around the scenic Cape Peninsula and destined to finish at Green Point was changed.
Lenasia top riders, Suliman Surtee finished his tenth race while Prakash Isvarlal did his 11th.
Explains Mohammed Takolia who himself had an excellent race, “CCL members made their way to Cape Town on Monday, March 2 – some by car, others flew but most were went by plane on race day as the pace would be blistering thanks to the shortened route.
The club’s seeded riders were out in the city of Cape Town by 5.15am, in time for the start time from 6.25am onwards. With fires raging across the Southern Peninsula, people were evacuated from their homes and buildings were being destroyed. It was going to be a tough call, by 6.30pm the Cape Town Cycle Tour organisers issued a press statement stating the route will be shortened for the first time in 38 years. This year it was called the “Show You Care Solidarity Ride” 47km circular route.
The feeling within CCL was depressing as many riders were upset as all their training efforts were wasted. All that changed on arrival in Cape Town.
It’s wasn’t just about the race. The Expo at Good Hope Centre, where race numbers were being collected and all the exhibitors showcasing their latest in cycling was an alternate attraction for cyclists, as Chapman’s Peak was closed off due to the fires.
There were training rides through the city up to Sea Point, Camps Bay and towards Hout Bay providing an excellent route that is unmatched in the world. The atmosphere at coffee shops in Camps Bay was awesome. There was nothing like a ride in the morning and then having breakfast and the scrumptious dinner at Bokaap Kombuis, was a treat for CCL members ahead of the race.
Times recorded for the race by CCL ranged from 1:13 to 1:45 with novices recording 2:25.

The post Lenasians shine at shortened Cape Cycle tour appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

Lenasia saw the karate tournament hosted by the Mohan Hira Karate Centre at the Alpha Primary School hall on Saturday, May 23 bursting at the seams. The venue, in fact, was too small. The Centre wanted to give the school exposure as a large number of children from Alpha Primary were participating in the tournament. The tournament started at 8am and  finished at 6pm.

An excited Hira could not believe the enthusiasm participants had for the sport.

Three-hundred of them came from all over in Gauteng. Seniors from the African continent who reside in central Johannesburg flooded the venue, especially those from Congo, Malawi, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Nigerians and from surrounding areas of Lenasia.

Those as little as four years old also participated in the successful event.

Said Hira, “Foreigners want separate classes in the martial arts because they are now aware that others from Kenya, Congo and other African States will also be participating in this world championships. The World Fanakhosi Karate Championship will be held on South African soil at the Walter Sisulu Hall from Thursday, August 27 until Sunday, August 30.

They are all making plans to have separate training sessions in preparation for the championships. We are also expecting participants from India, Africa, Europe and other countries. Pakistan will also participate for the first time. Over 1 000 karateka are expected in South Africa.

The kindergarten classes as well as primary schools have also requested separate training classes in preparation for the world championships.”

I think the Mohan Hira Karate Centre will be very busy until the tournament.

At the tournament, the Lenasians who were strong in Kata and Kumite did not find it easy as many of the ones from outside Lenasia gave them a ‘run for their money’ but at the end they excelled; especially those from Little Folks, Busy Kidz, Kindergarten Kidz and Park and Alpha primary schools.

Sixty divisions were catered for at this grand event and this lifted the standard of the tournament to new heights.

The post Massive turnout at karate tournamen appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

Lenasia and the Lenasia Athletic Club (LAC) are proud once more as some members of the club went about participating in the 90^th version of the Comrades Marathon 2015, which had their fair share of ups and down within the Race.

It was 87.7km of ‘burning tar ‘ running from The Banana City of Durban to Pietermaritzburg. Despite the exhaustion of the heat which contributed in many runners falling to the side along the way, but despite all those adverse weather condition LCC was proud once more with their runners performances on Sunday, May 31

For the first time in 23 years the Comrades Marathon was won by South Africans in both the male and female categories. Gift Kalehe, a policeman from Rustenburg in the North West passed the finish line, clocking 5:38:35 while the female race was won by Caroline Wostmann from Pretoria, She registered 6:12: 22 on the clock.

Of the 44 LAC members that register for the race only 29 started on race day, it is said that runners took about 9 minutes to pass the starting line.

Former LAC ‘golden girl’, Kashmira Pharbhoo did not run this race at all due to illness, days before race day.

I think, the highlight for the club was novice, Yusuf Waja who completed his first attempt at Comrades Marathon in 10:44: 32. Waja is a prominent Cyclist for Cycle Club Lenasia.

LAC Novice – Yusuf Waja

Sherina Desai who now completed her 13^th  Comrades Marathon was very lucky to pass the clock seconds before cut off time, She came in at 11:59:56.

Some notable times were recorded by members of the club, including Harshik Budhia (6 – 8:12), Ebrahim Kadwa (15 – 8:18), Livhuwani Ndou ( 8:39), Navin Sooka (18 – 9:21), Baboo Lall (5 -9:24),Naresh Nana (28 -11:17), Maya Devi Nana (6 – 11:17), Yagnesh Doelab (11:52), John Fourie (10:59), Yusuf Motala (10:44), Zaeem Fakira (3-11:34), Ahmed mia (18- 10:50), Anand Morar (19- 11:35), Yatish Dullabh (5- 11:17), Fourwondere Samuel Sibiya (10:37), Junaid Mohammed (3 – 11:07).

Ratilal Magan completed his tenth race, Green Number (10-10:50) while Jairaj Lalloo, his Double Green (20 –  11:51).

Ayob Chandley who was going for his green number (10^th Comrades) fail to make it to the finish line due to exhaustion. Adam ‘Eddie’Suliman also fail in his attempt to make it his 21 successful Comrades Marathon.

The post Lenasia proud of runners in Comrades Marathon 2015 appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

Born in a small village in Punjab, this 19-year-old, seven-feet-two tall basketballer has just become the first basketball player from India to be drafted into the NBA.

Trending for the right reasons, Satnam Singh Bhamara was 52^nd pick for the Dallas Mavericks in Thursday night’s draft.

Dallas Mavericks, is one of the NBA’s most competitive teams, having made the playoffs in 14 of the last 15 NBA seasons

Bhamara took to the hoop game at 10-years-old after his father’s friends recommended he tried the game as he stood at five-feet-nine at the age.

Before basketball he helped his father in the fields as his father is a farmer.

At 14 he was selected as one of eight players to be sent on a scholarship to the IMG basketball academy in Florida where he has been playing for the post graduate team for the past five years.

With an average of 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in less than 20 minutes per game for the number two team in the country the Mavericks are sure looking to develop the towering teen over the next few years.

Bhamara is set to suit up for the teams Development League affiliate, the Texas Legends.

“I’m over the moon,” Singh said to Indian news channel NDTV after the draft.

“I hope this opens new avenues for many more Indian basketball players in the future.”

The post Punjab kid Satnam Singh first Indian to be drafted into NBA appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

A strong contingent of karatekas from Mohan Hira’s Karate Centre are in full swing in preparation for the forthcoming 17th World Funokoshi Shotogun Karate Association Championships to be held in South Africa from Friday, August 28 to Sunday, August 30.

One-hundred karateka from the Lenasia Centre and thousands from all over the world will converge on the Walter Sisulu Hall in Randburg for this world championship.

On Friday, August 28, the championship will host team events. The next day it will be Kata (individual) and Sunday, Kumite (fighting).

Already training is at its peak for members of the Centre who come in many sizes; from as young as  three-year-old Yojo Ndanme to 67-year-old, Veronica Van Der Heifer from Alberton. Many of the students come from Lenasia’s Little Folks, Kindergarten Kidz, Park Primary and Igugu Nursery in Soweto. Others come from Western Areas Mines.

Lenasia has many members who are expected to do well in the world championship. They are, amongst others, Rahul Dullabh (20), 2nd Dan Black Belt, Varun Garg, also a 2nd Dan Black Belt, Meshaan Lutchman and Tasneem Osman, a third year medical student and 2nd Dan Black Belt.

Training takes place three days a week in Lenasia, and on weekends in Lenasia South. Seniors train every Sunday at the Mohan Hira Karate Centre.

South Africa boasts a 1 000 strong karateka for the championships who hail from Klerksdorp, Pretoria, Natal, Rustenburg, Bloemfontein and the Cape. The national team is likely to upset the applecart in many divisions as many were previously exposed to international competition with Mohan Hira.

Says Hira, “We are full force in training and as the host country we need to impress the judges and take the championships very serious. Our Karateka is well respected throughout the world and many of the smaller countries look up to us for inspiration and motivation.

Lenasia is very strong on the world stage and I am confident that many will do better at this world event. The level of our training has also risen. Our members must go out there to enjoy the competition, make friends with participating countries and bring back fond memories.”

At the time of going into print it was reliably learnt that Pakistan will also be sending down a team for the first time in Karate History.

• The All Africa Games will be held from September 20 in Senegal. Thereafter the Burmingham United Martial Arts Organisation will stage a championship on October 12 and 13.

Mohan Hira’s students will participate in both the games.

The post Karatekas in full training for world championships appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

As the season for road runners to come out from the winter, Comrades Marathon and the fasting month blues some are already preparing themselves to get into shape for the road that lies ahead. Summer is the time for many activities within the communities as the days are longer and participation is much stronger.

To that end some members of the Lenasia Athletic Club( LAC ) and other members took to the road on Sunday, August 9 (Women’s Day) to get those joints and oil their ‘machines’ for the season that lies ahead.

Those that did about 12 km from the Gym in Extension Eight in Lenasia include Anil Daya, Imran Wajoodien, Suliman Saloojee, Bhavin Rama, Sadeck Dhorat, Ahmed Shayista, Farhana Waja, Shaista Dhorat, Amina Dindar, Maya Nana and Tanita Seejarim.

On the way the ‘mini bus’ was met by Goolam Ebrahim. I call it the mini bus as during any race, many runners or walkers that move together is called a bus and because these were a few member we call them the mini bus.

Yes, they enjoyed the run so much and some of the comments were make afterwards by some of them included, “ Awesome run… thanks everyone” “ Lovely run ladies and gents” “Nice run Guys” “ Was awesome running with you Guys”

M/s Waja added a comment or two saying, “The run was just great for all of us, we will do this quite often as we need to get ourselves into shape once more. Many of the official races are around the corner and for that we need to be prepared.

Our run on Sunday was very refreshing for our runners and that I am sure did us all so much great and now are ready to hit the road again, weather has been great and warmer days are here.

The next day, being a public holiday, only a few of us ran.”

LAC members, Anant Morar, Brothers Bhavik and Janesh have just finished the Ironman 70.3 in Durban recently. These guys stayed fit during the winter months with constant training.

Two members of Cycle Club Lenasia participated in the Lost City Cycle Race over the past weekend.

The post Runners getting ready for the road appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

Primal Sports Nutrition recently hosted the 2015 Rhino Powerlifting push-pull championships.

Push-pull is composed of the bench press and dead-lift events. Competitors are given three attempts to lift their heaviest weight for each event, under strict powerlifting rules judged by 3 referees. The heaviest lift from each event is added along with the lifters body weight to a power-to-weight ratio algorithm in order to determine the winner.

Jaco de Waal, the 2014 GPC overall best lifter in the world won the men’s division with a spectacular 202.5kg bench press and a 317.5kg dead-lift at only 89kg body weight. Philip Armstrong was placed second and Micheal Barnard third.

Sonja de Waal, the 2014 push-pull champion won the women’s division with a 105kg bench press and a 175kg deadlift at 67kg body weight which is a feat most men cannot accomplish.

Primal Sport Nutrition sponsored over R10 000 worth of prizes.

Primal Sport Nutrition encourages local gym goers to start competing and hopes to see more local talent at the next event.

The post Jaco de Waal wins 2015 Powerlifting push-pull championships appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

The 2015 Powerade Lost City cycle challenge was held at the Sun City resort, this the first seeding race post the winter season. Although many may argue that August is still part of winter, but in Pilansberg area, it’s definitely no winter.

The Lost City cycle challenged is deemed to be a fairly flat race, but there is nothing flat about this with rolling hills from Sun city to Rustenburg, and via the mines back go the resort. What makes this race challenging and interesting is that the wind will never disappoint you to make the last sector of the race extremely difficult with it being head on.

Despite these challenges, 860 cyclists completed the 115 km race distance and 611 cyclists completed the 66km race.

The winning time for the 115km race was 2h34. Cycle Club Lenasia was represented by Kamlesh Valla who completed the 115 km race in a time of 3h07 and Dharmesh Rawjee who completed the 66km race in a time of 2h26.

The race is the official start of racing season for cycling

Says Kamlesh. “ Training during the winter season is always challenging. We have two major issues to deal with. One, the cold weather makes it difficult to ride as the wind chill factor makes it extremely challenging to ride in the cold if you do not have the correct winter gear.

The fact that the sun rises a lot later means that when the visibility has improved, the traffic on the road is significantly higher and this makes the cycling with a great amount of traffic, very risky and unsafe.

Thanks to our main sponsor, Ocular Technologies who have provided CCL cyclist with top quality winter cycling kits which makes cycling in the winter so much more comfortable, and CCL also provided all the cyclist with riding lights which has allowed the cyclist to ride safely just as the sun rises, hence allowing the cyclist to get some miles under the belt before the traffic builds up.

Cyclist who were not fasting took advantage of the new kits and manage to get a great deal of training done during the winter season. Although the training distances were not as long as we would ride in the summer months, we managed to increase our training over last year by 50%. “

He continued, “ Conditions on race day were ideal for a fast race, however as the race progressed, the wind picked up. The route back to Rustenburg was intense and at a fast pace, and many riders tried to force breakaway groups, yet the pelotons, pursued and pulled them back into the main bunch.. Although this being the first seeding race after the winter season, the cyclist whom did take part in this race, were primarily those cyclist whom have been training during winter. ”

Dharmesh added the following comment, he said, “ Training for the race over the winter months was a challenge  due to the cold weather factors. We try to leave early but due to low temperatures it really gets cold. If you are kitted out with the right gear you should just about be ok riding in the cold.

For me personally I did a few races before I joined CCL and it was tough especially when you ride alone. After joining Cycle Club Lenasia I have learnt a lot over the few months from the senior guys (A&B group cyclists).Training with them during winter was a huge learning curve for me and I have improved a lot from where I started off. So a big thanks to the club itself and its members.

The race itself was fast paced in the beginning, which was pretty flat. Halfway into the race some of the climbs got a bit difficult because of the head winds and some areas we had to cycle with traffic on our side. They were a lot of railroad crossings, we had to pass which meant we had to slow down and then pick up the pace.

Like Kamlesh said  it’s a nice race to do  coming out of winter and getting  your fitness levels up. “

The post Lenasia’s Kamlesh and Dharmesh take on Powerade Lost City Cycle appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

Gauteng Muslim schools affiliated to the Associated Muslim Schools (AMS) are all set to take on other provinces as they went about putting together a T20 team for the Associated Muslim Schools Under 19 during October.

Roshnee Muslim School once more play host for this national showpiece that is scheduled to be held at the Roshnee stadium. Last year they did a splendid job as the host and I’m sure everybody expect an even better one, this time round.

Over the past weekend, on Saturday, August 22 Gauteng Provincial trials was held for team selection at the Lenasia Cricket Stadium, a sudden switch from the Roshnee Stadium.

17 kids from AMS Gauteng Schools were at the nets for those trials and their performances for that morning impressed officials that were present, including National Sports Co-ordinator and principal of Lenasia Muslim school (Primary), Farouk Akoojee, Mahmood Motala and Riaaz Harris (Joburg Muslim school) and Asád Motara from Azaadville Muslim School.

Riaaz who most likely be the manager of the team (not confirmed at the time of going into print) said while the kids were at the nets. “Some excellent talent was seen within these kids and I am sure with regular training and match practice we will be able to put together a great team. Also we must let the boys play regularly so that they can get game time. Otherwise our team will do well at the nationals.”

This coming weekend this team will feature in a game against the national under 19 team, in Roshnee and other games will be arranged well before the national competition.

A national team is expected to be selected at the National T20 Cricket tournament where other provinces, Western Province, Eastern Province, KZN and Gauteng will participate..

This process has already started last year by the legendary, Hoosein Ayob and will continue at this forthcoming national event as some are out who are in Matric ( the schools don’t allow kids at this level to play any sport ), others have left the schools.

After the nets, Mr Harris announced the squad of possibilities for the Gauteng Squad. They include, Muaaz Sheikh, Mohammed Karahi ( Roshnee), Mohammed Ali Sufi, Saeem Chapparia ( Johannesburg MS), Huzaifah Ellimdin, Yusuf Manga, Yusuf Kalan ( Tswane MS), Zerek Baig, Shwaal Baig, Ebrahim and Mohamed Kotwal (Azaadville MS), Isa Wajoodien, Wasil Dasoo ( Lenasia MS).

Ebrahim Kotwal (Azaadville) will be the skipper of the team while Isa Wajoodien will be the vice captain of the team.

Mohammed Ali Sufi is amongst the best batsman within the team while Zerek Baig, s spinner is adding to the attack while bowlers are many, in the likes of Sufi, Ellimdin, skipper Ebrahim and Dasoo.

At the end Akoojee said much to the kids, “ we need to give 100 % to the Gauteng team and then the same amount for the national team (if selected). Team spirit, Team building, playing with passion is ingredients of a quality player.

Remember, we are all first muslim, therefore our Aklaagh (behaviour) must be very well, on and off the field and we must go out there to promote this well.

All the best to all of you out there, enjoy the games in good spirit.”

The post Gauteng AMS Cricket team ready for action at national competition appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

Cycle Club Lenasia’s (CCL) Kamlesh Valla and Dharmesh Rawjee took the opener for the season Powerade Lost City Cycle Challenge head on, the past Sunday, August 15 with a bit favourable weather conditions.

The only ones from the club that participated despite the fact that the cold days of winter are still not over.

The 2015 Powerade Lost City cycle challenge was held at the Sun City resort, this the first seeding race post the winter season. Although many may argue that August is still part of winter, but in Pilansberg area, it’s definitely no winter.

The Lost City cycle challenged is deemed to be a fairly flat race, but there is nothing flat about this with rolling hills from Sun city to Rustenburg, and via the mines back go the resort. What makes this race challenging and interesting is that the wind will never disappoint you to make the last sector of the race extremely difficult with it being head on.

Despite these challenges, 860 cyclists completed the 115 km race distance and 611 cyclists completed the 66km race.

The winning time for the 115km race was 2h34. Cycle Club Lenasia was represented by Kamlesh Valla who completed the 115 km race in a time of 3h07 and Dharmesh Rawjee who completed the 66km race in a time of 2h26.

The race is the official start of racing season for cycling

Says Kamlesh. “ Training during the winter season is always challenging. We have two major issues to deal with. One, the cold weather makes it difficult to ride as the wind chill factor makes it extremely challenging to ride in the cold if you do not have the correct winter gear.

The fact that the sun rises a lot later means that when the visibility has improved, the traffic on the road is significantly higher and this makes the cycling with a great amount of traffic, very risky and unsafe.

Thanks to our main sponsor, Ocular Technologies who have provided CCL cyclist with top quality winter cycling kits which makes cycling in the winter so much more comfortable, and CCL also provided all the cyclist with riding lights which has allowed the cyclist to ride safely just as the sun rises, hence allowing the cyclist to get some miles under the belt before the traffic builds up.

Cyclist who were not fasting took advantage of the new kits and manage to get a great deal of training done during the winter season. Although the training distances were not as long as we would ride in the summer months, we managed to increase our training over last year by 50%. “

He continued, “ Conditions on race day were ideal for a fast race, however as the race progressed, the wind picked up. The route back to Rustenburg was intense and at a fast pace, and many riders tried to force breakaway groups, yet the pelotons, pursued and pulled them back into the main bunch.. Although this being the first seeding race after the winter season, the cyclist whom did take part in this race, were primarily those cyclist whom have been training during winter. ”

Dharmesh added the following comment, he said, “ Training for the race over the winter months was a challenge  due to the cold weather factors. We try to leave early but due to low temperatures it really gets cold. If you are kitted out with the right gear you should just about be ok riding in the cold.

For me personally I did a few races before I joined CCL and it was tough especially when you ride alone. After joining Cycle Club Lenasia I have learnt a lot over the few months from the senior guys (A&B group cyclists).Training with them during winter was a huge learning curve for me and I have improved a lot from where I started off. So a big thanks to the club itself and its members.

The race itself was fast paced in the beginning, which was pretty flat. Halfway into the race some of the climbs got a bit difficult because of the head winds and some areas we had to cycle with traffic on our side. They were a lot of railroad crossings, we had to pass which meant we had to slow down and then pick up the pace.

Like Kamlesh said  it’s a nice race to do  coming out of winter and getting  your fitness levels up. “

The post Lenasia’s Kamlesh and Dharmesh take on Powerade Lost City Cycle appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

Walking five kilometres is what you, our communities, are being asked to undertake  by joining the Rising Sun’s first ever 750km peace walk from Johannesburg to Durban. The community is invited to walk from the Rising Sun offices in Lenasia to Trade Route Mall measuring 5 kms. Be part of this unique once in a lifetime milestone.  This as a powerful demonstration of your commitment to peace and unity in our country – peace on our streets, peace in our homes, peace in our schools and workplaces; and peace with unity between each other.

“Yes it is on a Saturday morning – September 19 – and yes, it does start at 6am but imagine the message it sends to the world and to ourselves that we want an end to violence, an end to abuse, an end to xenophobia and an end to hatred,” said Rising Sun’s CEO Vijay Maharaj. What better way of wearing our hearts on our sleeves.

What better way to show greater commitment than to exert greater than normal effort.

It is for a good cause, one of the best of causes and the Rising Sun is urging residents to join in.

You will also be sharing your commitment with 15 participants who have committed themselves to walking 750 kms – from Johannesburg to Durban. And, you will be walking in honour of and as a celebration of the life of the greatest peace and unity icon of them all – Mahatma Gandhi. The initiative is hosted by the Rising Sun Community Newspapers in conjunction with the Gandhi Development Trust.

With one leg into Spring why not begin trimming that summer body with the Rising Sun, tag along and invite family members and friends. The more the participants the more successful the walk will be. Pre- booking can be made prior to the event , however, late registrations will be held from   5.30am at 164 Rose Avenue Lenasia and the walk commences at 6am.

Participants can sponsor a leg of the Race at R10 per Kilometre.

However, any amount from R10 will be greatly appreciated as all accumulated funds will go towards the Gandhi Development Trust which is keeping the icon’s legacy alive.

Residents who would like to sponsor the race can visit the Rising Sun Offices or do an EFT transfer and fax the deposit slip to 011-852-0291. The reference is JHB/DBN.

Banking details are: The Gandhi Development Trust Bank Details are as follows :  Name of Bank : Standard Bank

Name of Account : Gandhi Development Trust

Account Type : Market link Account

Account Number: 056667353

Ref: JHB/DURBAN

The post Join the Walk for peace and unity appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

One of Lenasia’s fastest growing Martial Arts schools, KFKR (Ex Seido) is excelling beyond expectations in the various forms of this art. The club, headed by Chief Instructor, Sensei Afzal Dawood together with his son, Senpei Zaheer and daughter, Sensei Sumaya, have entered an international arena.

KFKR – Ken Toh Fude Noh Ryu – Lenasia started a few years ago under the Dawoods with only a few students. Now the club is taking the sport by storm and continue to grow.

The various martial arts styles used by this dojo and the effort of the trio’s methods say it all.

12 KFKR students have been selected to be part of the national team to represent the country later this year in the United World Karate-do Federation (UWKF) International Championships to be hosted in Maribor, Slovenia.

This World Championships is schedule to be held from November 5 – 8, 2015. Close to 193 countries are expected to converge to this European State.

The Crème de la crème of this selection is six year old Fatima Koor, a Grade R student of Al Aqsa Nursery school (Ext 13). This petite lass is joined by other dojo members Promise Homo, Saeeda Ebrahim, Khatija Bham, Ebrahim Mangera, Sizwe Miya, Raegile Soeketsi, Raeesa Bham, Zameena Jhatham, Zainub Mangera, Shameel Williams, Uthmaan Mehtar and Salmaan Mehtar.

Quraisha Patel, Huthaifa Choonara (Azaadville) and Akshay Jugga (Joburg Central) are three outside members to join this contingent in the national team.

Two major events resulted in this selection; where close to 19 exponents of this dojo participated.

The Provincials this July at the Sports Recreation Centre in Kibler Park saw Ekurhuleni Sports and Recreation General Secretary, Benjamin Mpalele and SA United Karate Federation President, Imtiaz Abdulla in attendance. The Lenasians did a splendid job, qualifying for the Nationals held on August 20-21 at the School of Excellence at Kuilsriver, Cape Town

Here Lenasia were joined by other clubs from Eldorado Park, Johannesburg Central, Ormonde and Soweto.

Under the leadership and guidance of Lenasia’s UWKF Gauteng coach, Senpai Zaheer, a total of 25 medals were bagged by Lenasia.

Here the competition was so stiff, close to 400 members of the various provinces took centre stage in the many styles of the United World Karate Federation (UWKF).

Lenasia’s showing was excellent.

A proud Head Instructor, Sensei Afzal Dawood was just too proud of his students’ performances throughout the various tournaments. With much excitement, Sensei Dawood said, “Our Kids were just brilliant in their performances, more so after taking into account that we had vigorous training since January, four times a week and this eventually paid off.

“The four styles we follow are, Shotokan, Gojoryu, Kyokushinkai and Koshiki (like Full contact kick boxing). Using these styles our lot have excelled together with discipline, loyalty and commitment.

“A special thanks to Senpai Zaheer for preparing and coaching our athletes in Cape Town, with the assistance of all our parents who have also played a great role in motivating our kids. I thank them for all their contributions. The students really kept our name in esteem.”

Financial assistance will be needed to fund students for this world event. The dojo humbly appeals to businesses and individuals of the community to come forward and lend a hand to raise those funds.

Classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 6.30pm to 7.30pm and on Saturdays between 11am to 12pm.

Special sessions are held for ladies under Sensei Sumaya.

For further info and to join this fast growing dojo, contact club officials Sensei Afzal on 082-973-8569, Senpei Zaheer 079-645-4233 or Sensei Sumaya 072-254-8366 or email sumi.dawood@gmail.com

The post Lenasia KFKR Karate kids make national team appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

What a show it turned out to be over the past weekend when the Tigers Football family put out a massive soccer extravaganza.

Hats off to Mohamed Said Adam ( Tiger president) and his great band of officials for putting such a prestigious tournament together from Friday evening ( September 11) until Sunday, September 13 at their home grounds at the Powerlines.

The ‘Powerlines’ were packed. Teams from as far as Laudium, Marlboro, Mondeor, Emmerentia, Benoni, Springs, Rosnhee, Fordsburg and Lenasia participated in what was called a nonstop soccer weekend.

The little ‘laaitjies’ and lasses from U6 division right up to the seniors were well catered for .

The tournament was originally schedule for last weekend but due to continuous downpours, games were postponed.

165 teams packed the venue and parents provide much vocal power and ‘Oh Boys’ from the crowd. The standard of competition was very stiff in many divisions.

The group games were very competitive and some teams were just not lucky enough to secure a spot in the semis. In the end all participants were winners.

The seniors clash between Valache Chiefs and Laudium All Stars was the climax of the great tournament. The game was decided in extra time when Laudium’s Zella Sadha netted a beauty after the teams were at loggerheads in regular time (1-1). Goals scored a piece by Showen Padachachi and a pile-driver equaliser by Naeem Amojee

Bellevue United scraped through victors in a penalty shootout against Lenasia Academy U16 after Keeper of Bellevue, Kamo Melela put his leg in the way to save a shot going into the nets (Bellevue 3 – Lenasia Academy 2).

The U14 final Lenasia Academy went on to beat Bellevue 3-2 after a penalty shootout.

The U12 finals were won by Marlboro United after they beat Lenasia Wolves by a lone goal scored by Abdulla Moosa.

A penalty shootout and sudden death settled the score in the U11 finals between Tigers and Mondeor, seeing the visitors turned victors.

Players in the development league received medals of participation.

Winners and the runners-up received trophies. The winners also received individual medals.

Lenasia Soccer League(LSL) president, Nazeem ‘Blonde’ Raffie was full of praise for the Tigers organisation for putting this soccer showpiece together and setting the standard very high. He said “Tigers did very well in hosting such a grand soccer tournament for all the divisions and I am sure that everybody enjoyed every bit of it.”

Special praise was directed to Mohseen Kotwal , an official of Tigers and Secretary of the LSL and to the beautiful announcer and time keeper, Shineze Kajee ( daughter of former and founder club secretary, Amnoo Kajee).

Rashaad ‘Ghashi ‘ was also full of praise to the Tiger Organisation for putting together such a lovely tournament. He said, “ Well done to Tigers, you have outdone other clubs in hosting one of the biggest soccer tournaments we have played in. It was very nice to see many teams from outside playing here at this tournament. It was sheer brilliance on their part.”

The post What a soccer showpiece – Tigers appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

Day three of the Gandhi Peace Walk commenced this morning from Greylingstad.

The 14 day walk commenced from the Lenasia Rising Sun offices on Saturday, September 19 with participants showing tons of enthusiasm.

According to Rising Sun CEO, Vijay Maharaj, the walkers are positive and motivated. Having passed the 120km mark, uneven surfaces and sore legs are the only problems the walkers are faced with.

“There are no shoulders on the road, therefore we are forced to walk on uneven surfaces which tends to become risky,” Maharaj said.

Having started the walk during overcast weather conditions on Saturday, by 12pm scorching heat had become a reality.

Although a little rainfall was experienced by the walkers, it has not demotivated the walkers.

The reception on arrival at Heidelberg and Greylingstad has been warm.

The walkers have 626km to reach the finish line at Durban’s Mahatma Gandhi Settlement in Inanda which will end on October 4.

The post Gandhi Peace Walk day 3- blisters and sore legs appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

The Mohan Hira Karate Centre members outdid themselves on an international and 67 bronze.

The 17^th Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Organisation (FSKO) World Cup, held in Randburg at the Walter Sisulu Hall, started on the weekend of Thursday, August 27, until Sunday, August 30.

Mohan Hira Karate Centre boasted the largest amount of participants in the tournament.

Their smallest was Yonela Ndwandwe, who still bagged a gold medal for Kumit against much bigger competitors. Veronica Van Der Heever, who is the eldest member in the club, finished with three gold medals.

Daneera Singh, who led the female contingent, collected four gold and one silver medal. Andre Van Jaarsveld bagged three gold. Ria Jogi from LMS bagged three gold and one silver. Other students who won medals were Zainub Moosa (2 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze); Junior K Mpofu (2 Gold); Al- Khansha Nordien (2 Gold, 2 Silver); Ayesha Bayat (2 Gold, 1 Bronze); and Ranitha Lakha( 2 Gold, 2 Silver).

Little Nuwella Hanif received one gold and three silver medals, while her twin brother, Mohammed got one gold and two silver. Sachin Govender received one gold, two silver and one bronze. Aditya Jogi received one gold, two silver and a bronze.

The Lenasia team made new friends and fond memories.

Shihan Mohan commented on his team saying, “They are one of the most fantastic teams we had and the best so far.

“Bring us anybody from the world stage and our lot will take them on. We have always performed so well on that international stage and this one has been rather special. We outdid ourselves in the various events our members participated in.

“So many compliments and people were just impressed with the team. Our performances, discipline and behaviour said it all.”

Tribute must be made to the parents of the participating kids, who were involved with so much of their preparations for this international event. For months they ensured that everything went well for Shihan Mohan Hira’s team.

A parent, Asiya Mullah said, “Perhaps it was not only a superb display of talent from Shihan Mohan Hira Karate Schools but also the coming together of many friends and family in support of our children. They have done us proud.

“Lenasia has great talent, which can be taken to higher levels, and we can confidentially state we can give international opponents a run for their money.

“We were exposed to international participation, which made the tournament so much tougher, but with the sacrifice of Shihan Mohan and our team, we were able to compete without any hindrance.”

Another parent, Dr S Chodree Bayat said, “It was an Amazing experience for the children – my son and daughter both took part. It was intense, especially when the competition was good. International Exposure really showed us our level of training is comparable and even excels against countries like England, India and Russia. Our Dojo won many medals, showing that our training is up to international standard.”

Recently, Shihan Sato, a 9^th Dan from Japan visited the Mohan Hira Karate Centre. All students, seniors and juniors were shown new karate moves and techniques.

The post Hira’s Karate Centre excells appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

After a shot break at 12 pm, our walkers have proceeded from Perdekop and are now heading towards Volksrust.  The expected time of arrival at Volksrust is 14.30 pm, after a grueling 7 hour 30 minutes walk.

The post Gandhi Peace Walk – Day 5 , 9 days to go appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

CEO of The Rising Sun Community Newspapers, Vijay Maharaj and President of the Mahatma Gandhi Remembrance Organisation, Mr Mohan Hira amongst other dedicated participants, who have embarked on a 750km peace walk on day 5 spent their night  at the correctional services in Volksrust.

This is the place where Gandhi was once imprisoned. This historical way of waking up on heritage day in a prison will be remembered by all participants of the Gandhi Peace Walk.

The senseless killings of our Police, xenophobic attacks, rapes, abuse of women and children, the killing of farmers and innocent civilians has inspired the need for this peace walk.

The cell where Gandhi was once imprisoned has since been restructured into a museum and historical site.

The journey was a very tiring one with lots of aches and blisters.  However, this is only a symbol of the life that Gandhi once lived in the fight for peace.

The journey has been chosen covering each little town where Gandhi once visited in his attempt for peace.

Gandhi’s trial took place in Dundee, but he served his sentence in Volksrust.

Day 6 walkers are 15 km towards Newcastle.

We urge the business and private sector to pledge their support towards this initiative by making a donation of R10 per leg of the walk or sponsor the entire distance. All proceeds will be donated towards the Gandhi Development Trust.

Your contribution will help in keeping the beliefs and spirits of Gandhi alive. For more information contact Raj Maharaj on 011 852 0842/3 or email him on rajm@ctp.co.za Keep posted on this website for further updates as the days progress.

The post Gandhi Peace Walk Day 6 – 15km towards Newcastle appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

With the temperatures at about 34’C, walkers are 25 km away from Newcastle and are heading towards Dundee.

Suffering from blisters, knee aches and ankle aches, in scorching hot weather, the participants are being treated for injuries along the way.

Yesterday the participants walked a further 5 km than expected.

Today, at 6 pm, the walk commenced from where they had previously stopped.

We urge the business and private sector to pledge their support towards this initiative by making a donation of R10 per leg of the walk or sponsor the entire distance. All proceeds will be donated towards the Gandhi Development Trust.

Your contribution will help in keeping the beliefs and spirits of Gandhi alive. For more information contact Raj Maharaj on 011 852 0842/3 or email him on rajm@ctp.co.za Keep posted on this website for further updates as the days progress.

The Gandhi Development Trust bank details are as follows:

Name of Bank:  Standard Bank

Name of account:  Gandhi Development Trust

Account Type:  Market Link Account

Reference: JHB/DBN

The post Gandhi Peace Walk Day 7 – 61.2 km to Dundee appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

Having braved extreme weather conditions over the Weekend, the Gandhi Peace Walkers let nothing get in their way this past weekend.

Day 8 kicked off with the walkers heading to Ladysmith from Dundee which is 68.km away. In scotching hot weather they were welcomed by Ladysmith with open arms.

Here they had to prepare for Day 9, where they were to make their way to Escourt, which is 63.9km away.

Day 10 kicked off with the walkers heading to Curry’s Pot, a 60.4km walk. Having began walking at 6am, the walkers are now passing Mooiriver.

According to Medical Officer, Clive Chetty, the walkers are managing and are all pulling through. “They have all pulled together and played their part,” Chetty said.

We urge the business and private sector to pledge their support towards this initiative by making a donation of R10 per leg of the walk or sponsor the entire distance. All proceeds will be donated towards the Gandhi Development Trust.

Your contribution will help in keeping the beliefs and spirits of Gandhi alive. For more information contact Raj Maharaj on 011 852 0842/3 or email him on rajm@ctp.co.za Keep posted on this website for further updates as the days progress.

The Gandhi Development Trust bank details are as follows:

Name of Bank:  Standard Bank

Name of account:  Gandhi Development Trust

Account Type:  Market Link Account

Reference: JHB/DBN

The post Gandhi Peace Walk- Braving scotching weekend weather appeared first on Rising Sun Lenasia.

Video: Elaine Naidoo

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