World Championships Senior
New Karate World champions crowned!
2021-11-20
The new Karate World Champions were crowned today as the 2021 Karate World Senior Championships reached the final stages of the competition.
After five thrilling days of action, the Karate World got to know the new heroes of the sport. Ryo Kiyuna of Japan, Sandra Sanchez of Spain, Steven Dacosta of France, and Irina Zaretska of Azerbaijan were among the stars of the day.
Ryo Kiyuna of Japan became the athlete with the most gold medals won at World Championships in Male Kata. The Japanese Kata icon defeated Damian Quintero of Spain in the final and claimed his fourth consecutive World title in Male Kata. Only Rafael Aghayev of Azerbaijan, with five World Championships, has more World titles than Kiyuna.
“I am very happy about this World Championships. To me, it feels like the one I won for the first time,” Kiyuna said.
The current Olympic gold medallist prevailed in the final as he received 28.38 points for his presentation of “Ohan Dai” for 26.66 points of Quintero.
SANDRA SANCHEZ WINS QUADRUPLE CROWN
One of the most impressive achievements of the day featured Sandra Sanchez of Spain as she completed the quadruple crown of World, European, Olympic, and World titles.
The current Olympic champion extended her domination of the Female Kata category since she won her second consecutive world crown in Dubai. Sanchez defeated Hikaru Ono of Japan after excelling with “Chatanyara Kushanku” kata and receiving a score of 28.46 points for 27.42 for Ono.
Sandra Sanchez said:
“I am feeling a flow of emotions now. I feel like crying. It makes me extremely happy that I was able to accomplish all the achievements that I set my mind to. It makes me very proud, not only of the results that we have been getting but also proud of the hard work that we do with (coach and husband) Jesus (del Moral)”.
STEVEN DACOSTA’S MEMORABLE SHOWCASE OF ABILITIES
The performance of the day had Steven Dacosta as the big star. The World, Olympic and European champion produced the most impressive performance of the finals as he outscored Emil Pavlov of North Macedonia 8-0 in the final of Male Kumite -67kg.
Two outstanding “Ippon” or three-point techniques is all the French hero needed to complete his demonstration of abilities in Dubai.
Steven Dacosta said:
“It was a difficult match, but it turned out very well for me. Now I cannot say what I did or what happened in the bout but I will sure watch the bout to relive it.”
DOUGLAS BROSE WINS THIRD WORLD CROWN
Two-time World champion Douglas Brose of Brazil and defending titleholder Angelo Crescenzo of Italy starred in the gripping final of Male Kumite -60kg.
As the clash was heading to the end scoreless, Brose connected a fantastic Ippon that gave him the match 3-0 and the World title.
It is Brose’s third world crown after the championships he won in 2014 and 2010, and his first World Championships victory in seven years.
Douglas Brose said:
“From the beginning, since I first got here, I tried to enjoy the experience as much as I could. Now I am really happy that I won the World Championships for the third time.
“This title is very important for me and my country. I love Karate and I hope this title helps to raise the bar of Karate in Brazil”.
JOVANA PREKOVIC CONTINUES OUTSTANDING WINNING STREAK
One of the most dominating athletes of today’s Karate, Jovana Prekovic of Serbia kept her World title and added her victory at the World Championships to her gold medals at the European Championships and Olympic Games.
The tight final clash of Female Kumite -61kg ended with Prekovic claiming her second consecutive title over Anita Serogina of Ukraine 2-1.
Jovana Prekovic said:
“I think I did a great job this year with the European, Olympic and now World titles. This victory is very important for me because I love Karate.”
IRINA ZARETSKA KEEPS WORLD CROWN
The host of #KarateWorldChamps prevailing today continued with Irina Zaretska of Azerbaijan who re-took the World title in Female Kumite -68kg.
The Olympic silver medallist edged Silvia Semeraro of Italy in an extremely tight clash. Both athletes reached the end of the bout with a tie 3-3 but Zaretska was declared the winner by “Senshuu” or first unopposed point.
Irina Zaretska said:
“I feel great. I feel even happier because my family could come here. It is the first time that they can see me after the pandemic. I wanted to give my family a present for their support and I am glad that I can give them this gold medal.”
GOGITA ARKANIA SHOWS AGE JUST A NUMBER
At 37 years, Gogita Arkania of Georgia produced the come-back story of the tournament. Seven years after winning the World crown, which he took at the 2014 Bremen World Championships, the experienced karateka was crowned as the best in the world again in Male Kumite +84kg.
Olympic athlete Arkania edged Simone Marino of Italy 3-2 in a tight final.
Gogita Arkania said:
“I feel amazing. I am very happy that I did history for my country and for my sport with this title, seven years later”.
MIHO MIYAHARA CLAIMS SECOND GOLD FOR JAPAN
The Japanese delegation went home with two gold medals today as Miho Miyahara managed to keep the title in Female Kumite -50kg.
The current World champion and two-time World Championships medallist defeated Shara Hubrich of Germany in a technical bout. The clash ended scoreless, and Miyahara was declared the winner by “Hantei” or decision.
REVOLUTION OF NEWCOMERS
The day of finals of #KarateDubai2021 was also taken by a storm by newcomers who showed the strength of the up-and-coming generation of karatekas.
Maria Torres of Spain claimed her first gold medal and the second top award for the Spanish delegation today as she became the winner of Female Kumite +68kg. The 24-year-old athlete beat Menna Shaaban Okila of Egypt 5-4 in a tight bout.
Maria Torres said:
“I am super happy; I still don’t believe it. I am living a dream. For me, this is a dream come true. It was the dream of my life and I can’t believe that it really happened”.
In Male Kumite -75kg, Dastonbek Otabolaev of Uzbekistan also claimed his first World title after beating Abdalla Mamduh Abdelaziz of Egypt 4-3.
The crown in Male Kumite -84kg went to Egypt since Youssef Badawy defeated Fabian Huaiquiman of Chile in one of the most disputed clashes of the day (6-6)
Egypt’s Ahlam Youssef who became world champion in Female Kumite -55kg by “Kiken” or absence since Trinity Allen of the USA could not compete due to an injury completed the list of gold medallists today.
The tournament ends Sunday with the Para-Karate and the Team categories.