The 2021 AKF Karate Championships started in Almaty (Kazakhstan) with a demonstration of the strength of the sport in the continent.

Powerhouse nations of the sport prevailed on the opening day of the 2021 Asian Karate Championships. Nearly 500 karatekas from 23 countries have travelled to Almaty to fight for the continental titles.

Representatives of Iran succeeded on day 1 of the event as they claimed six gold medals. Sajedeh Jahanshahi opened the gold medal count for Iran in Cadet Kata Female followed by Fatemehzahra Saeidabadi in Cadet Kumite Female -54kg. Aboldfazl Hamdamjoo in Cadet Kumite Male -52kg, Seyed Ali Mousavi Noor in Cadet Kumite Male -70kg, Melika Ezati Jodaghieh in Junior Kata Female and the Iranian Junior Male Kata Team completed the list of winners for Iran in day 1.

The delegations of INAKF, Kuwait, and Kazakhstan also registered deserving performances on the opening day with two golds each. Muhammad Akio Zaiko in Cadet Kata Male and Hazel Ramadhan in Junior Kata Male were the gold medallists for INAKF while Ali Alajmi in Cadet Kumite Male -57kg and Abdulhadi Aldwuailah in Cadet Kumite Male -63kg won the titles for Kuwait.

The host country also had reasons to celebrate today as Kaussar Yesteussiz in Cadet Kumite Female -47kg and Zhansultan Myrzaly in Cadet Kumite Male +70kg took the flag of the organising nation to the top of the podium. Yara Naser of Jordan in Cadet Kumite Female +54kg completed the list of gold medallists today.

The competition continues Sunday with day 2 of the event.

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