The second day of the competition of the 2022 European Karate Championships put the spotlight on stars of the sport who prevailed today. Anzhelika Terliuga of Ukraine, Angelo Crescenzo of Italy, and local hopefuls Serap Ozcelik Arapoglu, Burak Uygur, and Eray Samdan were among the heroes of the day.
The final of Female Kumite -55kg will be one of the highlights of the tournament as it will be a repetition of the title-deciding bout of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Both Olympic gold and silver medallists Ivet Goranova of Bulgaria and Anzhelika Terliuga of Ukraine used the Olympic success in their favour to qualify for the final of the continental event.
It will be the first European final for Goranova who defeated Nejra Sipovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the semi-finals 3-2. Meanwhile, Terliuga edged Veronica Brunori of Italy in the semi-finals 2-1.
Turkey’s Serap Ozcelik Arapoglu took advantage of the home-ground factor to add her name to the list of finalists of the organising country. The World ranking leader from Turkey will fight for her sixth continental crown after claiming a convincing 5-1 victory over Jelena Pehar of Croatia in the semi-finals.
Her rival in the final of Female Kumite -50kg will be Erminia Perfetto of Italy. The promising Italian karateka has never reached the last round on the international stage, and she surprised favourites following a compelling 6-2 triumph over Laura Hoffmann of Luxembourg.
Source: www.wkf.net
