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Karate future Olympians get ready to make their Olympic dreams come true in Umag

2018-06-18

Karate future Olympians get ready to make their Olympic dreams come true in Umag

Karate’s Olympic dreams will become a reality for up-and-coming karatekas in Umag (Croatia) where the Youth Olympic Games Qualification tournament will be held from June 29 to 30. 

Karate’s Olympic dreams will become a reality for young karatekas in Umag (Croatia) where the Youth Olympic Games Qualification tournament will be held from June 29 to 30. 

Over 300 young athletes from no less than 84 countries will participate in the Youth Olympic Games Qualification tournament in Umag. All the promising karatekas travelling to the idyllic city in Croatia hope to earn the four tickets per category which will give them the right to participate in Buenos Aires 2018. 

All the attention of the Karate world will be set in the 324 competitors who have registered to take part in Karate’s first-ever Olympic qualification tournament. As Karate is counting the days to make its Olympic debut in Buenos Aires 2018, young karatekas from all over the world hope to make their Olympic dreams come true in Umag. 

Among the up-and-coming athletes aiming to take the spotlight in Umag, Tania Barros from Portugal aims at taking her World Junior Championships bronze medallist status to win the Olympic qualification in Female Kumite -53kg.  Defending continental champions in the category, Fatemeh Khonakdartarsi of Iran, Daria Kodova of Russia, and Sennah Kilvington of Australia also act as front-runners in the category. 

With some of the top favourites already qualified by ranking, the category of Female Kumite -59kg appears up for grabs. Continental champion Ella Eads of Australia, and continental championships runners-up Assia Oukhattou of France and Mobina Heydariozomcheloei of Iran are among the young karatekas hoping to make a sensation in this category. 

Also coming from Iran, Negin Altooni will try to defend her Asian Championships title-holder status to win the qualification in Female Kumite +59kg. World Cadet champion Sakura Sawashima of Japan and Karate 1-Youth League Sofia gold medallist Janessa Michele Fonseca of Puerto Rico will be among her top rivals in the quest to glory in Umag. 

In Male Kumite -61kg, the attention will be focused on athletes such as continental champions Chase Hennessey of New Zealand, Declan Squire of Australia, Victor Jesus Valdovinos of Mexico, Ayrsal Muhammad of Indonesia and Abdallah Hammad of Jordan, among many others. The expectations are running high in this category as it presents the highest number of competitors with 66 young athletes registered. 

The universality of Karate will be displayed also in Male Kumite -68kg. This category is headed by front-runners such as World Championships bronze medallist Eren Akkut of Turkey and representatives of Karate powerhouses such as Japan’s Kotaro Nakamura, Iran’s Abolfazl Mirzaeigharakheyli and France’s Younesse Salmi, among many others. 

In Male Kumite +68kg, the favourite status will be posed on a diverse batch of athletes headed by World Championships silver medallist Nabil Ech Chaabi of Morocco. Asian champion Keisei Sakiyama of Japan and Oceania champion Raukawa Jeffries of New Zealand will be among the many competitors also hoping to succeed in Umag.  

The Youth Olympic Games Qualification tournament in Umag will be streamed LIVE and FREE on karateworld.tv.