The first day of the 2024 World Cadet, Junior & U21 Karate Championships in Venice-Jesolo, Italy, saw the world’s top young karate talent clashing for spots in the finals. With over 2,000 athletes from 113 countries, the competition kicked off with intense elimination rounds in kata and kumite in the U21 and Team Kata divisions.

Kata Team Cadet and Junior Female: Spain and Japan Advance

In the Female Cadet and Junior Kata Team event, Spain narrowly beat Egypt with a score of 38.70 to 38.60 to make it to the final. Japan secured their spot in the title-deciding bout with an impressive 40.00, defeating host country Italy, who scored 39.20.

Kata Team Cadet and Junior Male: Japan and Portugal in the Final

In the Male Kata Team competition, Japan dominated Hong Kong China, scoring 41.60 to 38.40. Portugal earned their place in the final after a strong performance, defeating the United States 39.60 to 38.50.

U21 Kata Female: Kotomi Sato vs. Paola Garcia Lozano

In the U21 Female Kata division, Spain’s Paola Garcia Lozano triumphed over Orsola Donofrio of Italy with a score of 41.20 to 40.10. Japan’s Kotomi Sato matched that score, beating Brazil’s Leticia Cardoso, who earned 38.90, setting up a thrilling final.

U21 Kata Male: Roman Hrcka vs. Anthony Vu

Slovakia’s Roman Hrcka secured his spot in the final by defeating Algeria’s Youcef Ziad with a score of 40.40 to 39.30. In the other semifinal, Anthony Vu of Sweden outscored Egypt’s Abdelrahman Elmowafi 40.70 to 39.60, earning his place in the final.

U21 Kumite Male -60kg: Amin Abdelmalki vs. Nuri Kilic

Belgium’s Amin Abdelmalki advanced to the final of U21 Kumite Male -60kg after a tight 2-1 victory over Yassin Miri of Canada. He will face Turkiye’s Nuri Kilic, who beat Janco Dorta of the United States 5-2.

U21 Kumite Male -67kg: Adel Omara vs. Akhmed Akhmedov

In the U21 Kumite Male -67kg category, Egypt’s Adel Omara secured his place in the final by winning 3-3 over Italy’s Raffaele Astarita. Akhmed Akhmedov of the Individual Neutral Athletes will join him after defeating Germany’s Muhammed Oezdemir 1-0.

U21 Kumite Male -75kg: Omer Faruk Yurur vs. Youssef Farag

Turkiye’s Omer Faruk Yurur dominated Ukraine’s Heorhii Pitsul, winning 9-3. He will face Youssef Farag of Egypt, who beat Kyrgyzstan’s Nazim Nurlanov 4-1 in a decisive bout.

U21 Kumite Male -84kg: Mohammad Aljafari vs. Omar Osman

Jordan’s Mohammad Aljafari delivered a stunning 10-0 victory over Saudi Arabia’s Anas Alzahrani. He will face Omar Osman of Egypt, who won 4-1 against Greece’s Nikolaos Moraitis.

Anes Bostandzic Shines in U21 Male 84+ KG

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Anes Bostandzic secured his place in the final after a tight semifinal against Spain’s Borja Gutierrez Marques. Bostandzic edged out Gutierrez with a narrow 2-1 victory. In the other semifinal, Italy’s Matteo Avanzini thrilled the home crowd by defeating Stefan Stojanovikj of North Macedonia 3-2 in a high-energy bout.

Mizuki Ishihara Dominates U21 Female -50 KG

Japan’s Mizuki Ishihara earned her spot in the final after a dramatic semifinal against Bulgaria’s Teodora Tsaneva. Ishihara won a hard-fought match 6-5. Ema Sgardelli of Croatia also secured her place in the final with an impressive 8-0 victory over Morocco’s Rim Dourai.

U21 Kumite Female -55kg: Fatemehzahra Saeidabadi vs. Menatalah Elhawary

Iran’s Fatemehzahra Saeidabadi advanced to the final with a dominant 11-3 win over Slovakia’s Nina Kvasnicova. She will compete against Egypt’s Menatalah Elhawary, who edged out Sirikamonate Chokprasertgul of Thailand 2-1.

U21 Kumite Female -61kg: Anastasiia Semenenko vs. Rahma Tolba

Germany’s Anastasiia Semenenko secured her spot in the final with a 2-0 victory over Spain’s Iona Lobato Sanchez. Egypt’s Rahma Tolba will meet her there after advancing with a 3-3 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Emina Sipovic.

U21 Kumite Female -68kg: Marina Kurtes vs. Thalya Sombe

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Marina Kurtes advanced to the final after defeating Italy’s Anna Pia Desiderio 2-1. France’s Thalya Sombe joins her in the final, having beaten Vira Fohlinska of Ukraine 4-2.

U21 Kumite Female 68+kg: Daria Iushkova vs. Sophie Bao Bednarski

Daria Iushkova of the Individual Neutral Athletes beat Romania’s Maria Cristina Coman 3-0 to advance. She will face Sweden’s Sophie Bao Bednarski, who defeated Dora Fleischer of Hungary 3-1.

As day one wrapped up, the stage was set for thrilling finals in all U21 divisions, with athletes from around the world vying for gold. The competition resumes tomorrow with more action in both kata and kumite, in the Junior categories.

The finals of the tournament on Saturday and Sunday will be available LIVE on the WKF YouTube channel.

2024 WORLD CADET, JUNIOR & U21 CHAMPIONSHIPS