Olympics
WKF announces first qualified athletes for Tokyo 2020
2020-03-18
The World Karate Federation has announced the first Karate athletes who have earned the qualification for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
The World Karate Federation has announced the first Karate athletes who have earned the qualification for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Due to the cancellation of the last qualifying tournaments because of the coronavirus outbreak, the first stage of the Olympic qualification pathway has been finalised. The four highest-ranked athletes per gender and Olympic event claim the 32 places allocated by standings. Additionally, the WKF has also confirmed the Japanese athletes who take the host nation quota in each one of the Olympic categories.
The qualified athletes in alphabetical order are:
| Male Categories Qualified Athletes | Female Categories Qualified Athletes |
|---|---|
| Male Kata Mattia Busato (ITA) | Female Kata Viviana Bottaro (ITA) |
| Male Kumite -67kg Darkhan Assadilov (KAZ) | Female Kumite -55kg Sara Bahmanyar (IRI) |
| Male Kumite -75kg Rafael Aghayev (AZE) | Female Kumite -61kg Merve Coban (TUR) |
| Male Kumite +75kg Ugur Aktas (TUR) | Female Kumite +61kg Hamideh Abbasali (IRI) |
The Olympic qualification process continues now to allocate the rest of the places to complete the final list of 80 karatekas to participate in Tokyo 2020. No less than 24 athletes will earn the Olympic ticket at the qualification tournament to be held in Paris (France). Additionally, 12 athletes will get the berth for the Olympic Games by continental representation and up to four karatekas will take the Olympic ticket by the Tripartite Commission invitation places.