After many years of hard work and many months of preparation, the moment of truth has come for top European Karatekas. The elite of European Karate has the opportunity to make their dreams come true this week in the biggest event of the sport in the continent. 

After many years of hard work and many months of preparations, the moment of truth has come for European Karatekas. The elite of European Karate has the opportunity to make their dreams come true this week in the biggest event of the sport on the continent. 

In the first European Championships after the inclusion of the sport in the programme of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the nearly 500 competitors from 44 countries being gathered this week in Kocaeli (Turkey) share the same dream and have the same goal: to become the new kings and queens of European Karate.  

“As the tournament is about to start, I am focusing on explosiveness and speed. I am working on fighting aspects and on some issues to gain confidence and to get a good recovery,” said France’s Alexandra Recchia. As defending European and World Champion, the 28 year-old French idol is arguably one of the biggest stars in Kocaeli. With two European titles under her belt, the Lyon-native athlete hopes to extend her successful career inside and outside the tatamis, as she recently passed the lawyer’s bar exam.

“It is a choice of life. I have an entourage of family and friends that help me in my everyday life. I also have a sports team that helps me keep a cool head especially in terms of making the right decisions in terms of planning and recovery. I am very grateful for being so well surrounded,” said Recchia. 

Hard work paying off

Meanwhile, other front-runners expect that the long hours on the training mat will come with a reward. “I just hope that my hard work will pay off and that I enjoy my performance there,” said Switzerland’s Elena Quirici.  

Defending European champion Elena Quirici leads Swiss’ hopes in the tournament as the 23 year-old karateka is aiming to repeat the success she achieved last year when the Wado Kai practitioner defeated Austria’s Alisa Buchinger in the final of the Female Kumite -68kg category.

“2016 was a really good year for me. I promised my grandma who was really ill that I wanted to win for her, and the fact that I could achieve that meant a lot to me. Of course, all the athletes competing at the European Championships work very hard and they all deserve to win. But in 2016 it was my time, and I was extremely happy to be able to reach the top of the podium and hear the national anthem of my country in my honour,” said Quirici. 

A dream coming true 

For most of the karatekas taking part of the event, having the chance to experience such a success is the dream of a lifetime. “It would really be a dream for me because even though I won some medals at European and World Championship, I have never been first and I have never heard the national anthem of my country at the top of the podium”, said Slovakia’s Ingrida Suchankova. 

The 2016 Grand Winner and World ranking leader acts as favourite in the Female Kumite -61 kg category and her main goal is to win her first gold at European big event. “I expect that the tournament will be of a very high level because everyone is very skilled so I just hope that I will give a good performance. Now I am focusing mostly on good reactions, a good functionality of the technique and of course I am trying to achieve a good mental state,” said 24 year-old Suchankova. 

For other karatekas, the stakes are very high at the event. Current World champion Jordan Thomas of England aims at leading the Male Kumite -67 kg while trying to recover the continental crown that he earned in 2014. “My intention is to perform at my highest level. This is what big events like this are for, to perform. At this moment I am focusing on dealing with the pressure and trying to control everything that happens in the tournament, “ said 22-year old karateka. 

Local karatekas hoping to make an impact at home 

The 2017 European Karate Championships will also be a special moment for the nearly 20 Turkish competitors who have the responsibility to represent the host country at the event. As stated by captain and front-runner at the Male Kumite +84kg category Enes Erkan, the intention of the Turkish delegation will be to reach the final stages in all the categories of the event. 

Whether local karatekas achieve the goal of taking the Turkish flag to the top of the podium, the event is seen as an opportunity to take Turkish karate on the right path. “I won't be competing in the tournament because I am preparing the Islamic Games, but it is a really important competition for Turkish karate. Turkey is a big and strong country so I am sure that we will have good results in the tournament.  Our focus is to succeed so these results can be a good starting point for us in our quest to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” said Turkish leader of Male Kata Mehmet Yakan. 

Click here for more information on the EKF European Championships. 

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