Greek karatekas dominate day 1 of #Karate1Athens

Day 2 of #Karate1Athens is underway. While the competition continues in Athens, learn what happened on day 1

👉https://t.co/Yp72hfBR7D #Karate 🥋 #KarateForLife

— World Karate Federation 🥋 (@worldkarate_wkf) January 14, 2023

KARATE1

Greek karatekas dominate day 1 of #Karate1Athens

2023

Greek karatekas dominate day 1 of #Karate1Athens
The 2023 Karate 1-Series A Athens got underway on Friday with Greek athletes dominating the competition. The representatives of the host nation were the big winners of the day, taking three spots in the finals.

HOSTS OF GREECE CELEBRATE THREE FINALS

The organizing nation celebrated Kyriaki Kydonaki’s qualification to the final of Female Kumite +68kg. The top Greek athlete who is the current European Championships bronze medallist defeated Fatima Uygur of Turkiye in the semi-finals (2-1).

Her rival in the final is Kelara Madani of the United States, who beat Maria Korpela of Finland in the semi-finals (2-1) to reach her first title-deciding bout in international competitions.

The second final for the host nation came in Male Kumite -84kg. Konstantinos Mastrogiannis made it to his first final following a slim 1-0 triumph over Vitomir Trajkovski.

The local hopeful will fight for the title against Junya Eto of Japan, who edged Andrea Minardi of Italy in the semi-finals 1-0.

Greece’s impressive performance continued in Male Kumite -75kg as Theocharis Giannakos also made it to the final. In his first senior international competition, the Greek representative defeated Enes Bulut of Turkey in the semi-finals 4-3.

His rival in the final is Abdelkarim Asaas of Morocco, who upset Djordje Salapura of Serbia in the semi-finals 4-3.

ALL JAPAN FINAL IN FEMALE KATA

The birth nation of Karate continues showcasing strength in Kata, as the final of Female Kata will have two competitors from Japan clashing for gold. Haya Horiba dominated the final pool with a score of 43.7 while U21 World champion Mirisa Ohuchi topped her pool with a score of 42.7.

Japan’s success on day 1 was also transferred to Kumite categories, since Tsubasa Kama reached the final of Female Kumite -68kg. The U21 World Championships bronze medallists upset Melinda Marmot of France in the semi-finals (2-0).

The Japanese karateka will clash for the title against Mia Greta Zorko of Croatia. The current European Championships bronze medallist made it to the final after winning the semi-final bout against Lolita Kostrytsia of Ukraine 1-1.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA SURPRISE IN MALE KUMITE +84KG

In a surprising demonstration of abilities of the representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the category of Male Kumite +84kg will have an all-Bosnia and Herzegovina final as Sandro Kresic and Anes Bostandzic both reached the last bout. Kresic defeated Luka Vukovic of Serbia 3-0 while Bostandzic beat Bogdan Trikos of Serbia 4-0.

The clash for gold Spain vs Kuwait in Male Team Kata completed the list of finalists on day 1 of #Karate1Athens.

The competition continues Saturday with the rest of the categories at stake. All the medal bouts will be available LIVE on the WKF YouTube channel. CLICK HERE to go to the WKF YouTube channel.

CLICK HERE to find more info on the 2023 Karate 1-Series A Athens, including results.

WKF ON THE WEB

kaynak:https://www.wkf.net/news-center-new/greek-karatekas-dominate-day-1-of-karate1athens/2130

Day 2 of #Karate1Athens is underway. While the competition continues in Athens, learn what happened on day 1

👉https://t.co/Yp72hfBR7D #Karate 🥋 #KarateForLife

— World Karate Federation 🥋 (@worldkarate_wkf) January 14, 2023