The second day of competition of the 2023 EKF Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships being held in Larnaca (Cyprus) took promising stars of the sport to the finals of the tournament after a thrilling demonstration of abilities.
Fresh off taking the Grand Winner award last week in Cairo, Aminagha Guliyev of Azerbaijan claimed the spotlight of the day in Larnaca as he made it to the final of U21 Male Kumite -60kg. The newly proclaimed Grand Winner will clash for the title against Anass Abdelmalki of Belgium.
Silver medallist in Karate 1-Premier League Cairo Daniele De Vivo of Italy extended his excellent form with a ticket to the final of U21 Kumite Male -75kg where he will fight against Adrien Marques of France.
U21 World Championships bronze medallist Ema Sgardelli of Croatia will fight for gold in U21 Kumite Female -50kg against Assma Charif of France while Nejra Sipovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina will compete for the title of U21 Kumite Female -55kg against Natalia Osadchuk of Ukraine.
Also demonstrating top form, U21 World championships runner-up Reem Khamis of Germany reached the final of U21 Female Kumite -61kg. Her rival will be Konstantina Chrysopoulou of Greece.
After winning the silver medal at the 2021 Karate 1-Premier League Cairo, Elina Sieliemieieva of Ukraine qualified for a final again, in U21 Female Kumite -68kg. The Ukrainian karateka will clash for the title against 2023 Karate 1-Series A Athens bronze medallist Sofia Ferrarini of Italy.
The highly successful Italian delegation added one more final spot as Matteo Avanzini qualified for the last bout of U21 Male Kumite +84kg. He will fight for gold against Anes Bostandzic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Newcomers Tan Markus Ojala of Estonia and Ika Sulamanidze of Georgia reached the final of U21 Kumite Male -67kg. The title-deciding bout of U21 Female Kumite +68kg featuring Spain’s Marta Pascual and Dijana Bota of Serbia and the clash of U21 Male Kumite -84kg with Maksym Buhaiov of Ukraine and Alexandre Martins of France completed the list of finals in U21 divisions.
THREE FINALS FOR TURKIYE IN JUNIOR CATEGORIES
The category of Junior Kumite Female -48kg will have two of the traditionally successful European countries clashing for gold. Sasha Vielle of France will fight for the title against Sidney-Michelle Ott of Germany.
France celebrated one more final as Amel Souidi qualified for the title-deciding bout of Junior Kumite Female -53kg. She will clash for gold against Buse Kilic of Turkiye.
The Turkish delegation also had representation in the last bouts of Junior Kumite Male -76kg and Junior Kumite Male +76kg, though Suleyman Aydemir who will clash against Ricardo Franken of the Netherlands, and Yusuf Eren Temizel against Alejandro Jimenez of Spain.
After their impressive performance on day 1, the powerhouse nation of Italy continued making the most of the event with two more finals in the Junior divisions. Anna Pia Desiderio reached the final of Junior Kumite Female -66kg against Dunja Rajic of Serbia while Asia Pergolesi made it to the last clash of Junior Kumite Female +66kg against Yulija Krot of Ukraine.
Representatives of Azerbaijan also performed at a deserving level with two final spots today in the Junior competition. Aysu Aliyeva qualified for the final of Junior Kumite Female -59kg against Aleksandra Davidova of Latvia as Farid Savadov reached the last bout of Junior Kumite Male -55kg against Alexandr Capmoale of Moldova.
The host nation also had reasons to celebrate today since Stavros Charalambides took the flag of Cyprus to the final of Junior Kumite Male -68kg. His rival for gold will be Guilherme Goncalves of Portugal.
The clash Uta Poniava of Georgia against Dominik Dziuda of Poland in Junior Kumite Male -61kg wrapped up the list of finals in Junior categories.
The tournament concludes Sunday with the bronze medal bouts, the finals and the crowning of the new continental champions.