The new kings and queens of European Karate were crowned on Day 4 of the 2023 EKF Karate Senior Championships being held in Guadalajara (Spain).
GERMANY CELEBRATE FOUR GOLDS
Johanna Kneer of Germany claimed her first continental title after winning the final of Female Kumite +68kg over Farida Aliyeva of Azerbaijan.
The second gold for Germany was taken by Reem Khamis. The promising karateka, in her first senior continental championship, upset favourites and defeated front-runner Anita Serogina of Ukraine by a slim 2-1.
Germany’s outstanding performance in Guadalajara continued in the afternoon session. Shara Hubrich caused one of the biggest upsets of the day as she defeated favourite and six-time continental champion Serap Ozcelik Arapoglu in Female Kumite -50kg by 1-0.
The European powerhouse nation wrapped up its fantastic day in Guadalajara with the gold medal in Female Team Kumite. The German squad defeated Croatia 2-0.
SPAIN TAKE TWO TITLES IN KATA
Spain used the home-ground factor and their strength in Kata to dominate the Individual Kata categories. Damian Quintero went back to winning ways and claimed the crown in Male Kata.
The six-time continental titleholder recovered the crown that he lost last year in Turkiye and extended his outstanding list of awards with seven golds in 12 finals. Quintero beat Mattia Busato of Italy by 43.5 to 42.2
In the final of newcomers of Female Kata, the title went to Paola Garcia Lozano of Spain. The up-and-coming Spanish karateka extended Spain’s domination of the category and followed icon Sandra Sanchez’s footsteps to take the crown.
The Spaniard, who is now the current continental champion in Junior and Senior competitions, defeated Helvetia Taily of France by 42.6 to 41.2
ANZHELIKA TERLIUGA RETAINS CONTINENTAL CROWN
One of the athletes in the best form on the international scene, Anzhelika Terliuga of Ukraine confirmed her status of favourite with a convincing victory in Female Kumite -55kg. Terliuga who was the defending titleholder, beat Veronica Brunori of Italy in a demonstration of skills 8-0 so to win her third continental crown.
The delegation of Ukraine also celebrated the title in Male Kumite -75kg by Andrii Zaplitnyi. In his first appearance in the Senior continental championships, Zaplitnyi beat Erman Eltemur of Turkiye 2-0
THIRD GOLD FOR ELENA QUIRICI
Elena Quirici of Switzerland became one of the stars of the day as she won her third continental championships. In the “Clash of Titans” of the finals, Quirici defeated current World champion Irina Zaretska of Azerbaijan by “Hantei” or decision 0-0. It is the third title in five finals for the Swiss ace.
STEVEN DACOSTA LEADS FRANCE’S SUCCESS
France also saw their flag on top of the podium today as Mehdi Filali won the crown in Male Kumite +84kg. In his first continental final, the French karateka defeated Georgios Tzanos of Greece by 4-0.
Increasing his impressive list of honours, Steven Dacosta added one more gold for France after prevailing in Male Kumite -60kg. The current World champion recovered the title that he won for the last time in 2019, also in Guadalajara, following a 4-2 victory over Dionysios Xenos of Greece.
ITALY SHOW STRENGTH IN GUADALAJARA
The powerhouse nation of Italy showed their strength in continental karate with 2 gold medals today. Michele Martina claimed the title of Male Kumite -84kg for the Italian delegation after defeating Ener Garibovic of Croatia 3-1. The gold in Guadalajara is the second continental crown for the Italian karateka.
Italy’s impressive performance today continued in Male Kumite -60kg since Angelo Crescenzo won his first continental title. The former World champion from Italy defeated Christos-Stefanos Xenos of Greece 5-4 and inaugurated his continental gold medal count after losing his previous three appearances in EKF finals.
PARA-KARATE ATHLETES INSPIRE WITH IMPRESSIVE DEMONSTRATION OF ABILITIES
Day 4 of action from Guadalajara also saw the inspiring demonstration of the abilities of the Para-Karate athletes.
In Intellectually Impaired Male and Female K21, the gold medals went to Carlos Huertas Ruiz of Spain and Olivia Kakosy of Hungary, respectively.
Meanwhile, the crowns in Intellectually Impaired Male and Female K22 were claimed by Mattia Allesina of Italy and Daniela Topic of Croatia.
The category of Blind/Visually Impaired also crowned its new champions today. Emiliya Mitlinova of Azerbaijan in Female K10 and Alexe Dorin of Romania in Male K10 completed the list of winners today.
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