Ben Camille continued to discover the world of martial arts when in this week’s episode of GAMEON he experienced a new discipline – karate.
Camille met with Malta’s kumite national coach Josef Antonelli who spoke about the benefits for youngsters to practice the sport.
“The sport of karate is based on defence and strike and entails a full body motion for every athlete,” Antonelli said.
“In Malta, we have eight clubs that fall under our association that works really hard to promote our sport.
“Our sport is semi-contact and in several clubs, we have children aged between three years and five and we showed them how to move and throw punches.
“However, it is important to emphasise that with the work we carry out with the children we make them aware not to use karate outside the gym. The sport gives great benefits to the children, particularly it instills in them self-confidence and discipline.”
During his visit, Ben Camille also met with national karate champion Thiys Antonelli who became the first Maltese athlete to ever win a medal in the World Cup when taking the bronze medal.
“I trained for several months for the event but once you arrive in the arena and you see everything set up I just went for it and managed to return home with a bronze medal,” Thiys Antonelli said.
“It was a great experience and now I am looking for more. In fact next month I’m heading to Cyprus for another major competition and I hope to be able to change the colour of my medal.”
Hottest games predictions
The challenge between Ben Camille and Times of Malta Sports Editor Valhmor Camilleri is heating up, as they continue trying to predict the results of the hottest games happening this weekend.
How did they do last week?
Ben Camille managed to bridge the gap with Valhmor Camilleri after last weekend’s big matches.
Ben Camille guessed the correct result of the match between Valletta and Birkirkara that ended in a 1-1 draw and predicted that Manchester United and Hibernians will come out on top from their matches against Tottenham and Floriana respectively.
That earned him 60 points.
On the other hand, Valhmor Camilleri only predicted that Manchester United would beat Tottenham and that Birkirkara vs Valletta would end in a draw to pick up 20 points.
Total Scores after week 8
In the overall standings, Valhmor Camilleri still leads the way with 370 points while Ben Camille is trailing with 320 points.
We will keep you updated with a tally of their scores every week. A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Real Madrid vs Barcelona (Sunday at 21.00)
Real Madrid will be looking to move a step closer of regaining the Spanish La Liga title when they host Barcelona in the Clasico on Sunday.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Real are in great form and they have a commanding ten-point lead over Sevilla at the top of the standings, and it looks increasingly unlikely that they will be denied the title this season.
However, the Madrid side will be equally determined to keep maintain their dominance over their fierce rivals Barcelona with another victory and given their recent form, which saw them also knock out PSG out of the Champions League, they will start as firm favourites.
For Barcelona, a win at the Bernabeu would put some substantial evidence behind the theory this team is ready to challenge again, certainly in Spain, even if not yet with the richest and most powerful clubs in Europe.
After the final days of Ronald Koeman, who increasingly saw the club’s crippling debts as an excuse for resignation and pessimism over poor results, Xavi has transformed the mood.
He took over with Barca lying ninth and they now sit third. They have not lost since December and have won their last four in a row, scoring 14 goals in the process.
Ben Camille’s prediction: Real Madrid vs Barcelona 1-1.
Valhmor Camilleri’s prediction: Real Madrid vs Barcelona 2-0.
Inter vs Fiorentina (Saturday at 18.00)
Inter will be desperate to clinch all three points as the Italian champions will be looking to bounce back from last week’s slip-up at Torino when they host Fiorentina at the San Siro.
The Nerazzurri slipped to four points adrift of Serie A leaders and neighbouring rivals Milan and although they have a game in hand, Simone Inzaghi’s team cannot afford to drop further points if they are to stay in the hunt for the Scudetto.
However, Inter’s task will be far from simple as they face a Fiorentina side who have been in solid form lately, suffering just one defeat from their last five matches and come into the match on the back of a battling 1-0 win over Bologna last weekend.
For the Viola, hopes of winning a place in European football is still up for grabs and no doubt they will gunning for three points to stay on course for a place in the Europa League next season.
Ben Camille’s prediction: Inter vs Fiorentina 3-1.
Valhmor Camilleri’s prediction: Inter vs Fiorentina 1-0.
Do you reckon you can beat Ben and Valhmor? Let us know your predictions for this weekend’s hottest matches in the comments below.
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