| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Zambian |
| Born | (1988-04-27) 27 April 1988 (age 36) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Judo |
Mathews Punza (born 27 April 1988) is a Zambian judoka. He participated in the 2010 World Judo Championships and later championships.[1]
Punza began studying judo at the age of six,[2] attending classes at Lilayi Police College.[2] As an adult, he became an officer in the police service.[2]
In 2015, Punza and fellow Zambian judoka Boas Munyonga traveled to Uzbekistan to study judo, under a scholarship program from the International Judo Federation.[3] Punza and Munyoga were unable to compete in the 2016 European Open Championship, as a result of visa difficulties with the government of the Czech Republic.[4] In spite of this, Punza was able to qualify to compete in the Olympics by scoring enough points in competition to meet the continental qualification quota.[5]
Punza competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he was Zambia's flag bearer during the opening ceremony.[6] In the men's 66 kg class, he defeated Golan Pollack of Israel in the second round, but lost to Adrian Gomboč of Slovenia in the third round.[7]
| Olympic Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Flag bearer for  Zambia Rio de Janeiro 2016 | Succeeded by |