World Championships Senior

Gabor Harspataki and Steven Dacosta lead way to finals in Male Kumite on day 2 of #KarateBudapest2023

2023-10-25

Gabor Harspataki and Steven Dacosta lead way to finals in Male Kumite on day 2 of #KarateBudapest2023

The second day of the competition of the 2023 World Karate Championships being held in Budapest (Hungary) in the Male Kumite categories was determined by Hungary's Gabor Harspataki's outstanding success at home. The final of Harspataki against Abdalla Mamduh Abdelaziz of Egypt in Female Kumite -75kg, Steven Dacosta of France against Nenad Dulovic of Montenegro in Male Kumite -67kg, and Kaisar Alpysbay of Kazakhstan against Christos-Stefanos Xenos of Greece in Male Kumite -60kg complete the finals today in Male Kumite.

Hungary's Gabor Harspataki took the star status today as he used the home ground factor to qualify for the final of Male Kumite -75kg. The local hero beat Hamza Turulja of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the semifinals 3-0 in a celebration of Hungarian Karate.

 

It is the first World Championships final for Harspataki who is an Olympic Games bronze medallist. The Hungarian karateka is also a two-time continental medallist but his last international title was at the 2019 Karate 1-Series A Salzburg.

 

The final of the category will be a highlight of the day as Harspataki's rival will be Olympian Abdalla Mamduh Abdelaziz of Egypt. The current World Championships runner-up claimed an outstanding 10-0 victory over Ukraine's Andrii Zaplitnyi and will compete in his second consecutive World Championships final.

 

The Egyptian karateka is a four-time continental champion and three-time Karate 1-Premier League gold medallist.

 

The bronze medals are as follows: 

Ernest Sharafutdinov (AIN) - Hamza Turulja (BIH)

Thomas Scott (USA) - Andrii Zaplitny (UKR)

 

STEVEN DACOSTA CONTINUES IN FANTASTIC FORM

France's Steven Dacosta is on the way to becoming one of Karate's biggest stars. The Olympic Games gold medallist and current World and continental champion continued ruling the category of Male Kumite -67kg with an outstanding qualification to the final.

 

The French multi-awarded karateka made it to his third consecutive World Championships final after edging Didar Amirali of Kazakhstan 1-0. It was one more success for Dacosta who is one of Karate's most impressive athletes.

 

Top favourite Dacosta will meet Nenad Dulovic of Montenegro in the final. The representative of Montenegro became one of the surprises of the day as he reached his first-ever international final.

 

In a performance full of surprises, Dulovic beat Muhammed Oezdemir of Germany 3-0 to win his best recognition to date.

 

The bronze medals are as follows: 

Afeef Ghaith (JOR) - Didar Amirali (KAZ)

Fahad Alkhathami (KSA) - Muhammed Oezdemir (GER)

 

KAISAR ALPYSBAY VS CHRISTOS-STEFANOS XENOS IN MALE KUMITE -60KG

The final of Male Kumite -60kg will have Kaisar Alpysbay of Kazakhstan and Christos-Stefanos Xenos of Greece fighting for gold. In a clash of firsts, Alpysbay qualified for the final after beating former World champion Angelo Crescenzo of Italy 5-1.

 

A current continental champion, Alpysbay is a three-time Karate 1-Premier League winner and number 7 of the WKF World Ranking.

 

Meanwhile, Christos-Stefanos Xenos reached the final following a 4-1 victory over Eray Samdan of Turkiye. The current Continental Championships runner-up qualified for his first final in a World Championships and completes an impressive international season with five medals in six international events.

 

The bronze medals are as follows:

Dominik Imrich (SVK) - Angelo Crescenzo (ITA)

Amr Alaa Aboukora (EGY) - Eray Samdan (TUR)

 

Follow the ELIMINATIONS LIVE on the WKF YouTube Channel

 

The FINALS will be available on a number of TV Networks. FULL LIST OF TV PROVIDERS.

 

2023 WORLD SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS