Karate Stars put the finishing touch on the Karate 1-Premier League held this weekend in Salzburg, as favourites reached the top of the podium in a thrilling last day of competition.

Karate Stars put the finishing touch on the Karate 1-Premier League held this weekend in Salzburg, as favourites reached the top of the podium in a thrilling last day of competition. The quest to glory ended with the crowning of top Karatekas who continued extending their domination in the tournament.

Venezuela’s Antonio Diaz upset Spain’s Damian Quintero to claim the gold medal of the outstanding Male Kata competition. The Pan American champion and the European champion demonstrated their condition of two of the biggest Karate Stars of the moment by presenting a sensational performance in the title-deciding encounter in Salzburg. After an impeccable record during the previous rounds, the two-time world champion Antonio Diaz managed to get the edge in his Anan-Ni Kata, and signed his first gold medal in Karate 1-Premier League tournaments since 2014.

Kiyou Shimizu's domination in Female Kata

Karate Star Kiyou Shimizu won her fifth gold medal in five international competitions in Female Kata, and increased her impressive career in major Karate events. The world champion maintained her unbeaten record in the category after defeating Emiri Iwamoto in the all-Japan final of the competition in Salzburg, thus confirming her status of leading force of the sport.

Local fans lived a memorable moment for Austrian Karate when Alisa Buchinger won the Female Kumite -68kg category. The Salzburg born athlete used the home crowd factor to beat Belgium’s Luana Debatty in the final, and signed her second medal in Karate 1-Premier League this season.

However, the representation of the host country could not add more gold to their tally. Austria’s Bettina Plank lost against Ayaka Tadano from Japan in Female Kumite -50 Kg, and Thomas Kaserer could not use the support from the stands in his favor to defeat Brazil’s Vinicius Figueira in Male Kumite -67 Kg.

Success of Japanese Karatekas

The Japanese delegation closed a successful performance in Salzburg, as five representatives from the Asian country claimed gold in their categories. World runner-up Ryutaro Araga topped a powerful demonstration in Male Kumite -84 Kg and claimed his second gold medal this season following his triumph in Karate 1-Premier League in Paris.   

The Male Kumite -75Kg competition also lived an all Japan-final since Daisuke Watanabe beat Ken Nishimura in a disputed clash, while Ayaka Tadano won in Female Kumite -50Kg and Ayumi Uekusa claimed gold in Female Kumite 68+ Kg, in an impressive demonstration of Japanese Karatekas in Salzburg. 

Peru’s Alexandra Grande in Female Kumite -61 Kg; Brazil’s Valeria Kumizaki  in Female Kumite -55Kg; Serbia’s Marko Antic in Male Kumite -60 Kg, Serbia’s Slobodan Bitevic in Male Kumite 84+ Kg, and the teams of Slovakia and Hong Kong in Female and Male Kata completed the list of winners of the thrilling fifth event of the 2016 Karate 1-Premier League.