The 2022 World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships concluded today in Konya (Turkiye). In a celebration of the strength of Karate among youngsters, the event finished with Japan topping the medal table of the tournament with a tally of 13 medals including ten golds.
Japan wrapped up their impressive performance with five golds on the final day. Mirisa Ohuchi opened the gold medal count of the day for Japan when she became the new World champion in U21 Female Kata. The Japanese Kata ace defeated Damayanti Marzella Sekar of Indonesia in the final (26.14 to 24.74)
The final of U21 Male Kata was a roller-coaster of emotions with both finalists Sakichi Abe of Japan and Duc Anh Nguyen of Vietnam ending the bout tied at points 25.12 to 25.12. Sakichi Abe was declared the winner by the tie-breaking criteria.
Japan dominated the Kata categories since the Japanese delegation won all the gold medals in Kata including individual and team competitions.
The Cadet & Junior Male Kata Team of Japan defeated Turkiye by 27.74 to 25.8 while the Female Japanese squad upset Egypt 26.54 to 24.66.
The representatives of the birth-nation of the sport even managed to increase their list of honours in Kumite. Sara Terawaza took the crown in U21 Kumite Female +68kg following a hard-fought triumph over Martina Sachova of the Czech Republic 3-1.
TWO GOLDS FOR ALGERIA
The Algerian delegation produced a surprising performance today as they went home with two World titles.
In U21 Female Kumite -50kg, Cylia Ouikene of Algeria defeated Hiba Fellaoui of Morocco by “Hantei” or decision (0-0) so to add the World U21 title to her Senior continental crown, thus confirming her status as one of the most promising karatekas of the category.
Meanwhile, team-mate Louiza Abouriche took the title in U21 Female Kumite -55kg. Abouriche who won the gold medal at the Karate 1-Series A in Kocaeli barely one month ago defeated Bella Samasheva of Kazakhstan in the final by a slim 4-3.
TURKIYE FINISH EVENT WITH 12 MEDALS
The Turkish delegation finished the tournament on a high note with one more World crown to add to their list. Gulbahar Gozutok took the flag of the organising country to the top of the podium in U21 Female Kumite -61kg after beating Reem Khamis of Germany in a thrilling final 6-4.
The host country ended the event in the second position of the final medal table with 12 medals and four golds.
WORLD CROWNS FOR POWERHOUSE NATIONS
The last day of action at #KarateKonya2022 brought the opportunity for powerhouse nations of the sport to inaugurate their gold medal count.
Current AKF Senior champion Abdallah Hammad of Jordan confirmed his promising status as he added the World U21 title to his list of recognitions. The Jordan karateka upset Said Oubaya of Morocco 3-2 in the final of U21 Kumite Male -67kg.
Iran also opened their list of top honours as Alireza Heydariyasavoli became the World champion in U21 Kumite Male -75kg. The Iranian karateka defeated Omer Faruk Yurur of Turkiye 3-2.
Meanwhile, in U21 Kumite Female -68kg, Thalya Sombe claimed the first gold for France after edging local hopeful Sudenur Aksoy 5-4.
Italy were also one of the top nations winning world crowns on the last day. Matteo Fiore defeated Vitomir Trajkovski of North Macedonia 4-1 and became the World champion in U21 Kumite Female -84kg.
Azerbaijan added one more title to their count following Aminagha Guliyev’s victory in U21 Kumite Male -60kg. The karateka from Azerbaijan who won the gold medal at the last Karate 1-Premier League event of the season at home in Baku upset Pavle Dujakovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-0.
The last title of the day in individual categories was claimed by Sanad Sufyani of Saudi Arabia in U21 Kumite Male +84kg. The promising karateka beat Stefan Stojanovikj of North Macedonia in the final 6-1.
At the conclusion of the event, WKF 1st Vice-President José García Maañón handed out the flag of the WKF to the President of the Italian Karate Federation and WKF Executive Committee member Davide Benetello as the city of Venice in Italy will host the next edition of the World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships in 2024.
Source and image: www.wkf.net
