The Karate competition of the Islamic Solidarity Games finished Thursday with a thrilling day that had Olympians as the big stars. Dilara Bozan, Irina Zaretska, Tareq Hamedi, and Sofya Berultseva were the Olympians prevailing on the final day of action from Konya (Turkey).
Irina Zaretska of Azerbaijan was one of the stars of the day since she added the crown in the Islamic Solidarity Games to her outstanding list of honours. The Azeri karate is the current World champion and won silver at the Olympic Games. At the event in Konya, Zaretska showcased her impressive superiority in the category of Female Kumite -68kg to beat Iran’s Mobina Heydariozomcheloei in the final.
Olympic Games silver medallist Tareq Hamedi of Saudi Arabia also succeeded in Konya. He became the champion in Male Kumite +84kg after a hard-fought victory over Asiman Gurbanli of Azerbaijan. It is one more recognition for Hamedi who is the defending Asian champion.
Dilara Bozan gave hosts plenty of reasons to celebrate as she took the title in Female Kata. Bozan who is an Olympian and current continental runner-up defeated Iran’s Fatemeh Sadeghi Dastak in the final, so to win her second medal this year.
The gold medal count for the hosts was completed with the title in Male Team Kata. The representatives of the organising country defeated Kuwait in the final.
The list of Olympians prevailing in Konya was completed by Sofya Berultseva of Kazakhstan in Female Kumite +68kg. The Olympic Games bronze medallist and current Asian Championships runner-up took gold after beating Meltem Hocaoglu Akyol of Turkey, who is also an Olympian.
Youngsters played a relevant role on day 2 of the event as well. Upcoming karateka Mohammad Aljafari of Jordan surprised favourites and took gold in Male Kumite -84kg after beating Azerbaijan’s Panah Abdullayev in the final.
In Female Kumite -61kg, Zulkhumor Tursunalieva of Uzbekistan won her first medal in senior international events as she upset local hopeful Gulbahar Gozutok.
Source and image: www.wkf.net
