The excitement reached new heights on the second day of the EKF Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships in Tbilisi as the morning session put junior athletes on the spotlight.
In the Junior Kumite Female -48 kg category, Agnes Nyman of Sweden reached the final after defeating Sasha Vielle of France with a commanding 4-0 victory. Meanwhile, Ludovica Legitimo of Italy secured her spot in the final by overcoming Defne Eda Yildirim of Turkiye with a score of 3-0.
The clashes continued in the Junior Kumite Female -53 kg division, where Helena Backovic of Montenegro advanced to the final after a tough encounter with Alexandra Wolf of Germany, solved by “Hantei” or decision 0-0. On the other side, Buse Kilic of Turkiye secured her place in the final by defeating Sylia Abdesselem of France with a score of 6-3.
The intensity remained palpable in the Junior Kumite Female -59 kg and -66 kg categories, with Sydney Yvon of France and Katarzyna Lewandoska of Poland, and Ajla Sipovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Faith Porquet of France reaching the finals respectively. Yvon triumphed over Yana Konna of Individual Neutral Athletes with a narrow margin of 4-3, while Lewandoska upset Beata Girvica of Latvia 1-0. Meanwhile, Sipovic secured victory against Alexandra Kalamrova of Slovakia with a score of 3-1, and Porquet edged Ema Tinavska of the Czech Republic 1-0.
In the Junior Kumite Female 66+ kg category, Amalie Hakova of Czech Republic and Jovana Damjanovic of Montenegro showcased their dominance, securing gold in their weight class after defeating Elzbieta Lukosaityte of Lithuania (3-0) and Sara Tomic of Croatia (4-3) respectively.
Turning to the male competitors, Muhammet Safa Yilmaz of Turkiye and Mustafa Islam Ogragli continued Turkiye’s success by clinching final spots in the Junior Kumite Male -55 kg and -68 kg categories, respectively. Their rivals will be Farid Hajizada of Azerbaijan and Uta Poniava of Georgia, who took the flag of the host country to the final day of action.
Meanwhile, Sven Strahija of Croatia and Gennaro Ingenito of Italy emerged victorious in the -76 kg division while the final spots in the +76kg category went to Artem Aleksieienko of Ukraine and Adam Tadjer of France.
As the championships progress, anticipation builds for more exhilarating matches and memorable moments in the days to come. The second day of action from Tbilisi will be completed with the U21 Kumite categories.
2024 EKF CADET, JUNIOR & U21 CHAMPIONSHIPS
