The third day of the 2024 World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships in Venice-Jesolo, Italy, saw intense action as finalists for the Cadet categories were decided. The representatives of Japan prevailed dominating the competition.

Cadet Kata Female: Anh Nguyen Mai Quynh vs Wakana Ito

Anh Nguyen Mai Quynh of Vietnam will face Wakana Ito of Japan in the final. Mai Quynh earned her spot by narrowly defeating Giulia Manca of Belgium 39.40 to 39.30. Ito secured her place with a convincing victory over Tamara Lehner of Austria, scoring 42.00 to 39.50.

 Cadet Kata Male:   Takeru Hamazawa vs Tarik Koc

Japan's Takeru Hamazawa and Turkiye's Tarik Koc will battle for gold. Hamazawa tied with Chun Kiu Zhao Jens of New Zealand at 39.90, but advanced based on performance criteria. Koc edged out Egypt’s Adam Ellithy 40.30 to 40.20 in a close match.

 Cadet Kumite Female -47 kg :   Rinri Oda vs Jana Vincic

Rinri Oda of Japan dominated Hungary’s Zsofia Agnes Hefner 8-0 to claim her spot in the final of Cadet Kumite Female -47 kg. She will face Jana Vincic of Serbia, who defeated Malak Afifi of Egypt 3-1.

 Cadet Kumite Female -54 kg:   Mariia Hnes vs Wiktoria Kraczaj

Ukraine's Mariia Hnes will face Wiktoria Kraczaj of Poland in the final of Cadet Kumite Female -54 kg. Hnes won a high-scoring bout against Katarina Djukic of Montenegro 8-6, while Kraczaj narrowly beat Leonor Goncalves of Portugal 2-1.

 Cadet Kumite Female -61 kg:  Nourhan Elmorsi vs Graziella Annael Ecchili

Nourhan Elmorsi of Egypt will meet Italy’s Graziella Annael Ecchili in the final of Cadet Kumite Female -61 kg. Elmorsi advanced after a tight match with Turkiye’s Gulen Irmak Ozturk, winning by decision after a 0-0 draw. Ecchili won her match 9-4 against Alina Petrenko of the Individual Neutral Athletes.

 Cadet Kumite Female 61+ kg:  Mariam Bsharat vs Roaa Mohamed

Palestine’s Mariam Bsharat secured her place in the final of Cadet Kumite Female 61+ kg with an 8-3 win over Italy’s Nicole Correddu. She will face Roaa Mohamed of Egypt, who progressed after a 3-3 match against Valeriia Milovanova of the Individual Neutral Athletes.

 Cadet Kumite Male -52 kg:   Abdulrahman Arafat vs Maksym Viechkanov

Abdulrahman Arafat of Saudi Arabia will face Maksym Viechkanov of Ukraine in the final of Cadet Kumite Male -52 kg. Arafat defeated Leonardo Nascimento of Brazil 9-4, while Viechkanov earned a narrow 1-0 victory over Germany’s Felix Namyslik.

 Cadet Kumite Male -57 kg:   Hatem Alharasees vs Kabu Yagura

Jordan's Hatem Alharasees earned his final spot in Cadet Kumite Male -57 kg with a 3-1 victory over David Rios Garcia of Spain. He will face Kabu Yagura of Japan, who secured his place with a strong 6-1 win over Leo Lambert of France.

 Cadet Kumite Male -63 kg:  Mouaz Mostafa vs Jorge Damian Flores Ortiz

Mouaz Mostafa of Egypt will compete against Jorge Damian Flores Ortiz of Guatemala in the final of Cadet Kumite Male -63 kg. Mostafa beat Nikola Birac of Croatia 4-0, while Flores advanced with an 8-8 tie against Belgium’s Rayan Zoueini.

 Cadet Kumite Male -70 kg:   Jusuf Saljiu vs Almerico Tommasino

Montenegro’s Jusuf Saljiu and Italy’s Almerico Tommasino will face off in the final of Cadet Kumite Male -70 kg. Saljiu defeated Eymen Doruk Gundogdu of Turkiye 3-1, while Tommasino triumphed over Ali Alaaelden Gad of Egypt with a 5-0 victory.

 Cadet Kumite Male 70+ kg:   Arashi Chiba vs Amro Albargawi

Japan’s Arashi Chiba secured his final spot with a high-scoring 10-8 win over Sunkar Kanibek of Kazakhstan. He will clash for gold against Amro Albargawi of Saudi Arabia who defeated Ilia Kobelev of Kyrgyzstan 8-1.

Day 3 was packed with thrilling bouts and impressive performances, setting the stage for exciting finals in the coming days of the championship.

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

2024 WORLD CADET, JUNIOR & U21 CHAMPIONSHIPS