The Senior Karate European Championships are underway in Montpellier with a thrilling first day of competition. The Individual Kata competition opened the action in the French city, as favourites confirmed their status qualifying for the finals of the tournament.

The Senior Karate European Championships are underway in Montpellier with a thrilling first day of tournament. The Individual Kata competition opened the action in the French city, as favourites confirmed their status by qualifying to the finals of the events.

The finals of Kata categories will register a showdown among French and Spanish representatives. In Male Kata, Karate Star Damian Quintero earned a spot in the gold medal clash for the sixth consecutive time following his triumph over Italy’s Mattia Busato, thus opting to claim his third gold medal in the category.

“I am very happy that I made it to my sixth final. We had done a very intensive preparation for our first big goal of the season, which is the European Championships and I am glad that I could qualify to fight for the gold medal,” said Damian Quintero.

The current European champion will clash in the title-deciding day against local hero Vu Duc Minh Dack. The 2015 European championships bronze medallist qualified for the final after beating world runner-up Ilja Smorguner from Germany, and paved the way to the medals for representatives of the host country.

The French delegation closed the Kata competition with yet another chance to reach gold since local heroine Sandy Scordo also earned a spot the final of Female Kata. The current world runner-up upset Turkey’s Dilara Bozan to reach her fourth final in senior continental championships.

“I feel great! I have gone through an intensive preparation and I managed to put in place all that I have been working on. This morning I made Katas that really helped me get into the competition and they gave me good feelings and good energy. After the team competition, I will start focusing on the individual final and I hope that I will perform well in front of my friends and my family,” said Sandy Scordo.

The final of the Female Kata competition will be one top highlight of the event, as French favourite Scordo will meet Karate Star Sandra Sanchez. The title-defending Karateka from Spain won her ticket to the final after defeating Puleksenija Jovanoska from FYR of Macedonia and will try to sign her third gold medal of the season in top competitions following her victories in Karate 1-Premier League events in Dubai and Sharm-El Sheikh.

The action continues in Montpellier Arena with the first rounds of Male and Female Kumite categories.

Watch the full interviews of Damian Quintero and Sandy Scordo on WKF's YouTube Channel.

Follow the action of European Karate Championships on WKF Social Media. Karate fans are invited to participate in the excitement using the hashtag #EuroKarate2016.