Commonwealth Karate Champs 2015 New Delhi, India 18-20 September Day 1 - We departed Christchurch just after 1pm on Tue 15 Sept on Thai Airways. Approx 12hr flight to Bangkok, then after about 3 hr in BKK airport our flight continued 4.5hrs to New Delhi, arriving around 3.30am on Wed 16 Sept. After passport/visa checks we finally left the airport arriving at Jayppee Siddharth Hotel around 5.30am. Quick check-in and to bed. Day 2 - After a short sleep, up for breakfast around 9am followed by a brief team meeting. Our first short trip outside the hotel was to a nearby mini-supermarket to buy bottled water and some snacks a real wake-up call! Just crossing the road was treacherous enough, not to mention the heat - about 38ºC. Begging children, roaming dogs, sewer smells and very noisy traffic tuk-tuks, rickshaw, taxis, trucks & cars etc Around 3pm there was a short warm-up training for the team in one of the hotel conference rooms. We finished day 2 together with the Australian Team at the hotel, where we were booked in for an Indian buffet meal - food was ok but the price at US$20, not including drinks, was too high. Day 3 - Thu 17 Sept, after an early breakfast, there was another training session for the under15yrs competitors and then around lunchtime we went on a bus sightseeing tour of Delhi, visiting the Red Fort and a local temple, before heading back through the crowded streets to our hotel for weigh-in and a last pre-comp, team training & meeting.
Day 4 Fri 18 Sept, breakfast at 6.30am then bus pick-up at 8am to get us to the Talkatora Stadium for Champs. Over 200 competitors & 10 Commonwealth Nations represented India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sth. Africa, Australia, NZ, Botswana + officials from UK + Canada. Competition began punctually at 9am the stadium was well appointed + air-conditioned, it actually felt quite cold on the upper seating levels, however, the competitors warm-up area was overcrowded & very hot. During the day, the temperature outside rose to the high 30ºs again, so we kept our outdoor photo shoots short!! Below is a picture of our JION competitors and supporters at the entrance gate Strangely, the opening ceremony began around lunchtime mid competition - some kids kumite divisions having to be stopped mid-flow for about 35-45mins for this colourful, official ceremony, with dancers, music and many welcome speeches.
All 10-13yrs Kata and Kumite divisions took place on Fri 18 Sept, as did the Cadets (14-15yrs) divisions. Cadets began their competition later in the afternoon with Jessica s Kumite starting well behind schedule around 8pm. This final division didn t finish until after 9pm, we were only just in time to catch the bus back to the hotel, have a late dinner and get to bed. Our young JION team fought well in all their divisions, Jenna, Taylah and Rosie all gaining points but just missing out on the medal rounds. Charlie had a great first round against Sri Lanka, winning 8-1, securing him 3 rd place and Jessica managed to win 2 impressive repechage rounds 4-1 & 5-1 both against India securing her bronze medal, after missing out to Australia in the first round 0-2. Altogether, a very satisfactory result for our young team at such a high calibre competition All Junior (16-17yrs) & Senior Kata, Kumite and Team rounds took place over the next 2 days. More good results were achieved for the NZ Team, leaving NZ 4 th overall on the medals table. We are very grateful to the support given to our young JION competitors, by the National Team coaches and officials, senior team members & parent supporters. Everyone had their role to play and we had a great unified look in the stadium.
With the competition days over, there was just one day left for us in India. Several team members joined a day tour by bus to the Taj Mahal in Agra. Other team members preferred to stay an extra couple of nights in Agra before travelling home. Family Windhorst decided to travel to Agra by train, leaving early on Mon 21 Sept by private car to the train station. Our sightseeing tour, although only 1 day, was packed full of interesting places, monuments and Indian experiences. Not only did we visit the Taj Mahal and nearby Agra fort, we travelled by private car to Fatehpur Siikri the deserted city about 60mins drive from Agra. The drive in itself was fascinating, passing through busy towns and smaller rural villages with their bustling street markets, small roadside workshops and food stalls. We saw a wide variety of flora and fauna and some of the poorest residential areas. Many images will remain with us forever. As pictures speak far louder than words, here are just a few images we managed to capture on our last day in India some photos, which we took out of the window of the car or train, may be a bit blurry
We left India on Tue 22 Sept, along with most of the NZ group and flew to Bangkok, where we went our own ways. Some returned immediately to NZ, others stayed just a day or 2 in Bangkok, family Windhorst stayed 4 nights in the city centre. Our first rainy day in Bangkok was spent in MBK - the largest shopping mall in Thailand with its 7 floors of shops, restaurants, cinemas and an amusement arcade. A great way to stay out of the heat and the rain Our chosen form of transport throughout our stay in the city was tuk-tuk. During our short stay in Thailand we also managed to fit in a full day tour to the KhaoKai National Park, a World Heritage Site, where we enjoyed walking around a fresh food market, tasting local produce, travelling to a remote settlement where we learned how to cook some Thai specialities in beautiful rainforest surroundings. We went on an ox-cart ride through the countryside, climbed more than 200 steps to view a magnificent waterfall and later, after a scenic coach drive through the national park, rode elephants through the jungle. Quite an experience!
Back in Bangkok, we visited Wat Pho and saw the famous golden reclining Buddha, took a tuk-tuk ride through China town where we saw many stalls and market stands and we went shopping along Koh San Road bargains galore. Our adventure ended on Sat 26 Sept leaving Bangkok with many lasting impressions and memories of the Commonwealth Championships, of India and of Thailand. So, where to next?? Watch this space