Italy’s Danilo Greco was one of the heroes of the day as the former Junior continental champion qualified for the final of Male Kumite -60kg. Greco defeated team-mate Luigi Bisaccia in the semi-finals 3-1. With this result, the Italian karateka reaches the Top 32 of the WKF World Ranking.
In the final, Greco will meet Aymane Takzima of Ukraine. A first-timer finalist, Takzima defeated Italy’s Carmine Luciano in the semi-finals 6-3.
ERNEST SHARAFUTDINOV MAKES IT TO TOP 32
Russia’s Ernest Sharafutdinov also prevailed in the WKF World Ranking Challenge. The Russian karateka needed to make it to the final of Male Kumite -67kg to reach the Top 32 of the ranking and that is exactly what he did. The number 50 in the ranking claimed a convincing 11-1 victory over Algeria’s Yanis Tas in semi-finals.
The category was also successful for hosts of Spain as Samy Ennkhaili aims at repeating the triumph at the 2018 Karate 1-Series A Guadalajara with a qualification to the final here. The Spaniard defeated Romania’s Florin Gogolosi 3-0.
In Female Kumite -50kg, experienced Valeria Kumizaki of Brazil used her competitive edge to her advantage as she made it to the finals. The former World Championships runner-up beat Ukraine’s Yuliia Palashevska in the semi-finals 5-3.
After the successful opening day, France put another of their representatives in the final round. Tiphaine Bonnarde reached her first title-deciding bout after edging Alba Pinilla of Spain 5-4.
The experience also worked in favour of Olympian Bettina Plank of Austria who qualified for the final of Female Kumite -55kg. The two-time World Championships bronze medallist defeated Spain’s Marta Cortes in semi-finals 1-0 and will clash for gold against Germany’s Mia Bitsch.
The promising German karateka and sister of Karate Stars Noah and Jana qualified for her first final in senior competitions following a 2-0 victory in semi-finals over Greece’s Maria Stoli.
Source and image: www.wkf.org
