The sport of Karate is set to cause a sensation at the 2023 European Games. As one of the inaugural sports, Karate returns to the programme of the multi-sport event in the third edition being held in Poland.
WHAT
- The European Games are the biggest multi-sport event being held in Europe after the Olympic Games of London 2012.
- Held every four years, the 2023 European Games in Poland follows the events of 2015 in Baku (Azerbaijan) and 2019 in Minsk (Belarus).
- Karate has been part of the sports programme of the European Games in all three editions of the event.
WHERE
- The Karate competition of the 2023 European Games takes place in the city of Bielsko-Biala.
- Located in the southern part of the country, Bielsko-Biala is the biggest Karate hub in Poland. The city hosts the prestigious Polish Open, one of the top events in the sports calendar of the European Karate Federation.
- The Karate tournament is held at the Bielsko-Biala Arena.
WHEN
- The Karate competition of the 2023 European Games is scheduled for June 22 and 23.
- The finals are held at the end of each competition day.
- The Eliminations take place from 9:00 to 14:15 (local times GMT+1) on both days.
- The semifinals are slated for 15:30 to 17:30
- The finals will be held from 17:30 to 19:30
WHO
- No less than 96 athletes from 33 countries will participate in the Karate event of the European Games.
- A host of Olympians will fight for the medals in Bielsko-Biala, including Olympic champion Ivet Goranova (Bulgaria), Olympic Games silver medallists Damian Quintero (Spain), Anzhelika Terliuga (Ukraine), Eray Samdan (Turkiye), Irina Zaretska (Azerbaijan), and Olympic Games bronze medallists Ali Sofuoglu (Turkiye), Bettina Plank (Austria),
- Olympians Mattia Busato (Italy), Angelo Crescenzo (Italy), Gogita Arkania (Georgia), Dilara Bozan (Turkiye), Serap Ozccelik Arapoglu (Turkiye), Anita Serogina (Ukraine), Elena Quirici (Switzerland).
- The event will also have World champions Irina Zaretska (Azerbaijan), Maria Torres (Spain), and Gogita Arkania (Georgia) among the main contenders.
HOW
- Each competition category will be formed by a total of 8 (eight) competitors, to be divided into 2 (two) pools of 4 (four). The competition will be done on 2 (two) tatamis, with 2 (two) categories competing at the same time.
- The competition follows a Round Robin system (all against all in the pool)
WATCH IT LIVE!
- The full competition will be available by streaming LIVE on europeangames.tv