The best Asian Karatekas will fight for the continental crown this weekend at the 2019 AKF Senior Karate Championships. The event will be held in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and it is expected to showcase the outstanding level of Asian Karate. 

The best Asian Karatekas will fight for the continental crown this weekend at the 2019 AKF Senior Karate Championships. The event will be held in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and it is expected to showcase the outstanding level of Asian Karate. 

All four WKF World ranking leaders from Asian countries and the three current World Champions coming from Asian nations will participate at the 16th edition of the continental championships. Nearly 400 competitors from 33 countries are registered to clash for the titles in the much-anticipated tournament. 

JAPAN AIM TO CONTINUE RULING KATA 

Japan’s Ryo Kiyuna is set to catch the attention of fans in Tashkent. The three-time World champion aims at his fourth consecutive gold medal at the event and hopes to extend his winning streak in international events which he keeps since February 2018. Current silver medallist Yi-Ta Wang of Chinese Taipei will be among his main rivals in Male Kata. 

The Japanese delegation has its eyes set in keeping the domination of the Kata categories thus repeating the successful performance of last year when the representatives of the birth nation of the sport took all four gold medals in the categories of choreographed movements. Kiyou Shimizu is the current title-holder in Female Kata, and the two-time World champion from Japan hopes to retain the crown in Tashkent. Mo Sheun Grace Lau of Hong Kong and current silver medallist Celine Xin Yi Lee of Malaysia will try to upset the top favourite. 

Defending World champion and current continental title-holder Miho Miyahara in Female Kumite -50kg, World ranking leader Ayumi Uekusa in Female Kumite +68kg and defending champions Kayo Someya in Female Kumite -68kg and Ryutaro Araga in Male Kumite -84kg will be among the candidates to take the flag of Japan to the top of the podium.  

IRAN HOPE TO SHOW STRENGTH IN TASHKENT

Iranian representatives have traditionally prevailed at the event as the karatekas from the powerhouse Asian nation have taken the second spot in the final medal table in three of the four last editions of the tournament. The Iranian delegation will be headed by world champion Bahman Asgari Ghoncheh. The world title-holder in Male Kumite -75kg hopes to recover the continental crown which he won in 2017 thus taking back-to-back world and Asian titles. Current gold medallist Bashar Alnajjar of Jordan and Japan’s rising star Ken Nishimura will be among the top contenders of the category. 

Defending champion Hamideh Abbasali in Female Kumite +68kg will also head the Iranian hopes in Tashkent. 

TOP RANKED KARATEKAS TO MAINTAIN WINNING STREAK

Two of the karatekas on top form this season, Darkhan Assadilov of Kazakhstan and Xiaoyan Yin of China hope to maintain the outstanding level in Tashkent. Assadilov is the leader of WKF World Ranking in Male Kumite -60kg and he hopes to win the continental title for the first time. Meanwhile, Xiaoyan Yin tops the WKF World ranking in Female Kumite -61kg and aims at becoming one of the biggest stars of the event if she gets to win her third consecutive continental crown. 

Hosts of Uzbekistan participate with 17 athletes and will try to use the home-ground factor in their favour. The Uzbek delegation will be headed by former Grand Winner Sadriddin Saymatov hoping to win his third medal at the continental stage. 

The 2019 AKF Senior Championships will be another opportunity for powerhouses of the sport in the continent to clash for the domination of Karate in the region. Japan and Iran have topped the medal table of the last two editions of the event with Kazakhstan, Kuwait and Jordan also appearing among the top three ranked nations in the last three editions of the event. Last year, Japan took the first position of the medal table with eleven medals and eight golds followed by Iran with eight medals and four golds and Jordan with three medals and two golds at the tournament which was held in Amman (Jordan).