By Anne Azuka
Karate delivered one of the most impressive performances at the 15th Biennial Police Games (BIPOGA), tagged Asaba 2026, held at the Stephen Keshi Indoor Sports Hall in Asaba, Delta State.
A total of 64 medals were decided in the karate event, with Zone 5 emerging as the dominant force, claiming seven gold medals — nearly half of the available gold — alongside three silver and two bronze medals to top the medals table.
Zone 6 placed second with three gold, two silver and six bronze medals, while Zone 11 secured third position with two gold, five silver and two bronze medals.
Zone 7 finished fourth with one gold, two silver and four bronze medals. Force Headquarters claimed one gold, two silver and five bronze medals to place fifth. Zone 17 followed in sixth position with one gold, one silver and one bronze medal, closely trailed by Zone 14, which recorded one gold and three bronze medals.
Zone 16 secured one silver and six bronze medals, while Zones 2, 1 and 4 each claimed a bronze medal to feature on the medals table.
The competitions were contested across various gender-based categories.
In the female individual kata event, Rita Edejor of Zone 5 won the gold medal. Zainab Abdusalam of Force Headquarters secured silver, while Dorcas Samuel of Zone 14 and Jumai Apata of Zone 7 claimed the two bronze medals.
In the male individual kata category, Edward Shinyi of Force Headquarters clinched gold, with Suleiman Shittu of Zone 11 taking silver. Samuel Tunde of Zone 5 and Emem Udoh of Zone 6 settled for bronze medals.
Zone 5 also triumphed in the female team kata event, winning gold ahead of Zone 7, which took silver. Zones 14 and 17 shared the bronze medals.
In the male team kata event, Zone 6 delivered a strong performance to win gold, while Zone 10 claimed silver. Zones 11 and 7 secured the bronze medals.
In the women’s 50kg kumite category, Offor Mercy of Zone 5 won gold. Smart Ebi of Zone 16 took silver, while Abiuty Anieken of Zone 6 and Balogun Oluwakemi settled for bronze medals.
The karate event further highlighted the competitive spirit and technical excellence displayed by officers at the ongoing BIPOGA games in Asaba.
