The Karate 1-Premier League Rabat started Friday with a celebration of the popularity of Karate in Morocco. Grand Winners Yorgelis Salazar of Venezuela and Anzhelika Terliuga of Ukraine were among the stars of the opening day of the competition.

NEW FINAL FOR GRAND WINNER YORGELIS SALAZAR

Venezuela’s Yorgelis Salazar celebrated her debut as Grand Winner of Female Kumite -50kg with a new ticket to the finals. The current World ranking leader defeated Nadia Gomez of Spain 6-0 and makes it to her fourth consecutive title-deciding bout in international competitions.

Her rival for the crown in Rabat is Moldir Zhangbyrbay of Kazakhstan. The defending continental champion upset Spain’s Gema Morales 5-0.

GRAND WINNER ANZHELIKA TERLIUGA REACHES NEW FINAL

Ukraine’s Anzhelika Terliuga confirmed her status as the big favourite of the category of Female Kumite -55kg. The Grand Winner of the division upset Tsui-Ping Ku of Chinese Taipei 6-0.

The final of the category is set to be one of the highlights of the final day. The second finalist in the division is World Championship runner-up Trinity Allen of the United States. The current World Championships silver medallist and continental championships bronze medallist beat Valentina Toro of Chile 4-0.

ANGELO CRESCENZO SHOWS STRENGTH

The category of Male Kumite -60kg was shaken by Angelo Crescenzo’s outstanding performance. The World ranking leader defeated Abdallah Hammad of Jordan by an impressive 10-3 to reach his second final of the year after his triumph at the EKF Senior Championships.

The title will be contended by Abdullah Shaaban of Kuwait who prevented an All-Italian final following a 6-2 victory over Luciano Carmine.

Italy added one more final today as Gianluca De Vivo prevailed in Male Kumite -67kg. The Italian karateka who won bronze last year in Rabat defeated Didar Amirali of Kazakhstan 6-1 and will fight for gold against Abdel Rahman Almasafta of Jordan. The Olympian upset Soichiro Nakano of Japan 3-0.

FAVOURITES TAKE STAND IN FEMALE KATA

The category of Female Kata will have the main frontrunners fighting for the title. Olympic Games bronze medallist Mo Sheung Grace Lau of Hong Kong and Olympic Games runner-up Kiyou Shimizu of Japan will repeat the final of the opening tournament in Cairo.

Mo Sheung Grace Lau who was the silver medallist in Karate 1-Premier League Cairo defeated Jasmin Juettner of Germany in the semi-finals (scores of 43.20 to 40.30) while the winner of Karate 1-Premier League Cairo from Japan beat team-mate Hikaru Ono with scores of 45.20 to 44.80.

The clash of Sultan Alzahrani of Saudi Arabia against Quentin Mahauden of Belgium in Male Kumite +75kg completed the list of finalists of the day. The current Asian runner-up from Saudi Arabia upset local hopeful Wadie Sassioui of Morocco 8-0 while the European bronze medallist from Belgium beat Enzo Berthon of France 7-2.

The eliminations on Saturday are available LIVE on the WKF YouTube channel. The medal bouts on Sunday can be followed on a number of TV networks and platforms around the world. FULL LIST OF PROVIDERS.

RESULTS OF 2023 KARATE 1-PREMIER LEAGUE RABAT