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Karate showdown set to highlight 2019 Pan American Games

2019-07-26

Karate showdown set to highlight 2019 Pan American Games

The 2019 Pan American Games officially start on Friday, July 26th with the anticipated opening ceremony. The best karatekas in the continent are ready to shine in Lima (Peru) thus demonstrating the outstanding sporting spirit of Karate. 

The 2019 Pan American Games officially start on Friday, July 26th with the anticipated opening ceremony. The best karatekas in the continent are ready to shine in Lima (Peru), and are counting the days to demonstrate Karate's outstanding sporting spirit.

The Karate competition of the 2019 Pan American Games is scheduled for August 9 to 11. During three days, the top continental athletes of the sport will show their incredible abilities on the tatamis of Villa Deportiva Regional del Callao sports hall in Lima. No less than 132 athletes from 21 countries will fight for gold in the 14 categories at stake. 

Karate fans can expect plenty of memorable moments in Lima since some of the biggest heroes of the sport have confirmed their participation in the event. Antonio Diaz of Venezuela will be one of the leaders of the Karate showdown in Lima. The most-awarded Karate athlete of all times will try to increase his record-breaking tally of awards as the two-time World champion hopes to recover the crown that he won in 2003, the last time that Kata categories were included in the programme of the Pan American Games. Four years earlier, the Karate star had won the silver medal at the event. 

With three Pan American Games medals under his belt, Douglas Brose of Brazil is also hoping to keep the title he won in 2015. The two-time World champion was proclaimed the winner of the last edition of the Pan American Games after beating Venezuela’s Jovanni Martinez in the final. The Brazilian star who had claimed bronze in 2011 and 2007 is the front-runner of the Male Kumite -60kg category, with two-time Pan American Games medallist Andres Rendon of Colombia and current PKF Championships runner-up Maximiliano Larrosa of Uruguay appearing among the candidates to the title. 

Meanwhile, in Male Kumite -75kg, Thomas Scott of the USA is also hoping to use his favourite status to prevail in Lima. The current continental champion is the defending title-holder of the tournament after dominating the edition of 2015. Four years earlier, the 28 year-old Texas native had already taken the silver medal. Now, with the quest to the Olympic qualification in full force, Scott leads the powerful Team USA delegation at the event that has PKF Championships runner-up Sakura Kokumai, continental champions Ariel Torres and Cheryl Murphy, and 10th-placed in WKF World ranking Brian Irr among the main representatives. 

ALEXANDRA GRANDE LEADS LOCAL HOPES 

The karatekas of the host country aims at using the home-ground factor in their favour so to take the flag of the organising nation to the podium of the Karate competition. Alexandra Grande spearheads the Peruvian team in Lima; as the ambassador of the Games, the current continental bronze medallist is one of Peru’s biggest hopes at the event. Grande had already taken the gold medal in the 2015 edition after edging Karina Diaz of the Dominican Republic. 

Much of the attention of fans in Female categories will be focused on Ana Villanueva of the Dominican Republic. The 37 year-old karateka has won the title of Female Kumite -50kg in the last two editions of the Pan American Games and aims at becoming one of the most-awarded Karate athletes of the tournament. Shannon Nishi of the USA who won gold in 2011 competing in Female Kumite -55kg and continental medallist Alicia Hernandez of Mexico will be among the front-runners of the category. 

Valeria Echever of Ecuador in Female Kumite +68kg, Brazil’s Valeria Kumizaki in Female Kumite -55kg and Franklin Mina of Ecuador in Male Kumite +84kg complete the lists of current title-holders competing in Lima. 

The Karate tournament of the 2019 Pan American Games will present individual kata and kumite categories and team kata competition. CLICK HERE to go to the official competition programme.