The 2021 Karate 1-Premier League Cairo concluded today with local karatekas taking the spotlight of the competition. The hosts claimed no less than five golds while Olympians Ariel Torres, Sakura Kokumai and Anita Serogina also succeeded in one more celebration of Karate’s Olympic success.
The gold medal count for Egypt was initiated by Malek Salama in Male Kumite -60kg. In his second final of Karate 1-Premier League, the current continental Championships bronze medallist edged Sami Tas of Algeria 1-0.
Extending the title showdown for hosts, Abdallah Abdelaziz produced one of the highlights of the day with a devastating victory over Austria?s Luca Rettenbacher in Male Kumite -75kg. The defending continental champion of the category claimed two sensational Ippon or three-point techniques or and two Yuko or one-point actions to finish the bout 8-0 with 1.45 to go before the end of regulation time.
The title-deciding bout of Male Kumite -84kg was a celebration of Egyptian Karate since local karatekas Omar Ashraf Mohamed and Youssef Badawy clashed for gold. The victory went to Youssef Badawy who signed off an outstanding Ippon to win the bout 6-2.
n a demonstration of resilience, Sohila Abouismail claimed the fourth crown for Egypt in the contested final of Female Kumite +68kg. The local representative avenged the final of the 2016 Karate 1-Premier League Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt when the Egyptian karateka lost the title-deciding clash against Anastasiya Stepashko of Ukraine. This time, Abouismail used a late Yuko? to defeat the Ukrainian representative 2-1.
The division of Male Kumite +84kg also had two local karatekas fighting for gold. Taha Tarek Mahmoud had the honour of taking the Egyptian flag to the top of the podium after edging team-mate Hazem Ahmed Mohamed 1-0.
Source: www.wkf.net
