All participation records are expected to be broken in the new edition of the Karate 1-Series A. The first-class international events under the umbrella of Karate 1 begin this week in Guadalajara (Spain) and karatekas from all over the world are massively showing great interest in the competition by exceeding all expectations of attendance. 

All participation records are expected to be broken in the new edition of the Karate 1-Series A. The first-class international event under the umbrella of Karate 1 begins this week in Guadalajara (Spain) and karatekas from all over the world are massively confirming their participation in the tournament thus exceeding all expectations of attendance. 

The growing popularity of major international Karate events will be further stated in Guadalajara this weekend. No less than 1400 athletes from 82 countries are registered to participate in the inaugural tournament of the 2018 Karate 1-Series A which is scheduled for February 9-11. The participation numbers for the Karate 1-Series A in Guadalajara break all the records of a first-class event of the sport. 

An average of 900 competitors from 64 nations took part in the first edition of Karate 1-Series A last year. The last edition of the World Senior Championships had the participation of 1049 athletes from 110 countries. Now, the world of Karate is meeting in Guadalajara in a celebration of the universality of the discipline. Italy present the largest delegation with a staggering 155 participants, followed by Spain with 153 karatekas and France with 65 athletes, while the five continents will be represented at the event. 

SHOWDOWN OF FIRST-CLASS KARATE

In addition to the massive participation of athletes in the competition, the Karate 1-Series A in Guadalajara will catch the attention of fans worldwide as the best athletes in the world will clash for gold in the Spanish city. Seven WKF world ranking leaders, including Grand Winners Serap Ozcelik of Turkey and Anzhelika Terliuga of Ukraine, and four current World champions including kata queen Kiyou Shimizu of Japan and Austria’s Alisa Buchinger are registered to compete in the opening tournament of the 2018 Karate 1-Series A. 

Plenty of Karate Stars are also set to shine in Guadalajara. After his surprising defeat in the final of Karate 1-Premier League in Paris, superstar Rafael Aghayev of Azerbaijan will try to defend his five-time world champion status so to claim his first gold medal this season. Also with a silver in Karate 1-Premier League under his belt, Karate Star Douglas Brose aims to take his fourth consecutive medal in major international events after reaching the second spot of the podium in Paris, Salzburg and Halle/Leipzig. 

The local representation will be headed by Grand Winners and WKF world ranking leaders Damian Quintero and Sandra Sanchez. The two local heroes started the season with bronze medals in Paris and hope to continue their successful run of titles in front of family and friends. Damian Quintero has claimed medals in all but two of his last ten international appearances, including golds in the European Championships, the 2017 Karate 1-Premier League in Dubai and Rabat and the 2017 Karate 1-Series A in Toledo. Meanwhile, Sandra Sanchez shows an impressive streak of winning medals in all her international appearances since November 2014. 

The Karate 1-Series A is a world-class competition that provides karatekas around the world with more competitive opportunities to shine at the highest level and to get points for the WKF ranking. In its second edition, the 2018 Karate 1-Series A will travel to Guadalajara (Spain), Salzburg (Austria), Santiago (Chile) and Shangai (China)  

CLICK HERE to go to the Karate 1-Series A Guadalajara micro-site.