The best karatekas in the world will meet next week in the opening event of the season. The Karate 1-Premier League Paris features the top athletes of the sport in one of Karate’s flagship tournaments as first-class karatekas continue getting closer and closer to making their Olympic dreams come true. 

The best karatekas in the world will meet next week in the opening event of the season. The Karate 1-Premier League Paris features the top athletes of the sport as first-class karatekas continue getting closer and closer to making their Olympic dreams come true. 

The Pierre de Coubertin sports hall in Paris hosts the first Karate 1-Premier League of the year from January 25 to 27. All the defending World champions and all but one of the Grand Winners are registered to participate in the anticipated tournament. The current leaders of the Olympic standings will also take part in Paris. 

It will be the first opportunity for the newly-proclaimed Grand Winners to wear the special karate-gi with the golden embroidery on the shoulders. After their successful campaign last year, the owners of the “Best of the Best” award will try to extend their victorious run in Paris now that they get to display the special Grand Winners’ karate-gi. The line-up of these first-class karatekas will be headed by the two local representatives, Alizee Agier and Gwendoline Philippe who hope to shine at home. The Grand Winners in Female Kumite -68kg and Female Kumite -61kg respectively lead the numerous delegation of 49 athletes representing France at the event. 

The new World champions will also debut as world title-holders in the first Karate 1-Premier League of the season after the historic 2018 World Championships in Madrid. All the attention of local fans will be put on Steven Dacosta. The young French karateka took the world crown in Madrid and now aims at using the home-ground factor in his favour next weekend. 

Sandra Sanchez of Spain who continues on her quest to become The World Games’ Athlete of the Year 2018, Japan’s World champions Ryo Kiyuna and Miho Miyahara, and the new generation of kings and queens of the sport spearheaded by Poland’s Dorota Banasczczyk and Italy’s Angelo Crescenzo, among others, will also attend the event. 

Karate fans will also have the opportunity to watch in action the current leaders of the Olympic standings since all the top-placed karatekas will compete in Paris, including World champion and Grand Winner Jonathan Horne of Germany, Japan’s Ken Nishimura, Ayumi Uekusa and Kiyou Shimizu, and China’s Xiaoyan Yin, in addition to Japan’s Ryo Kiyuna and Miho Miyahara, and Italy’s Angelo Crescenzo. 

The 2019 Karate 1-Premier League starts on January 25 at 09:00 (local time). The finals are scheduled for Sunday, January 27. All the medal bouts will be streamed LIVE on Karateworld.tv