This year’s Swabian Cup took place almost on the doorstep of the Wemdinger – namely in the Monheim town hall, which was well filled with a total of 120 participating karatekas. There the almost blind TSV fighter started in the “master class”, in which karateka also compete without restrictions. Steinhübel again showed the Sochin kata, with which he had already won the German championship title in para karate in the spring. His opponent was Constantin Richter, a junior fighter from Haldenwang. Steinhübel was able to oust his young opponent in second place due to the greater routine and a sovereign performance. Steinhübel thus celebrated the Swabian championship title in the master class for the first time. “I’m proud that I was able to show what the visually impaired are capable of,” said the Wemdinger after the competition.
Victory in the Swabian Cup is followed by the Upper Bavarian championship
Steinhübel had to travel farther to the Upper Bavarian Championships that followed. These took place at TuS Alztal Garching. The fact that the pilgrim had to pass the pilgrimage site of Altötting could at least be taken as a good omen. However, Steinhübel had his problems with the circumstances. “I had difficulties with the soft floor mats because these competition mats were very different from the usual surface,” said the athlete. Since this time he started in the “Visually Impaired” class, which was only weakly occupied, even a rather average performance was enough for him to win the title. Even if the ambitious karateka was not entirely satisfied with the performance shown, he recorded the performance as an important experience.
Next stop: Bavarian championship
In the meantime, Rene Steinhübel already has a new goal in mind: he wants to compete in the Bavarian Championships in Ingolstadt in October and prepare meticulously until then. He is supported by his trainers Jürgen Müller and Lothar Kreutner, who lead the karate training in the Judo-Karate department of TSV Wemding. (pm)
