The 28th edition of the Mediterranean Karate Championships concluded in Limassol (Cyprus) with Olympian karatekas dominating the competition.

Over 400 athletes from 13 countries gathered in Limassol (Cyprus) this past weekend to clash for the titles in the 42 categories at stake. The event joined competitors of all the categories from cadet until senior.

OLYMPIANS WIN GOLD

In the senior competition, Karate’s Olympians took the spotlight of the event. Viviana Bottaro of Italy who won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games celebrated her Olympic success with the title in Limassol. The Italian Kata queen defeated Sanae Agalmam of Morocco in the final of Female Kata.

Team-mate Silvia Semeraro extended the success of Olympias at the event as she claimed the title in Female Kumite -68kg. The Italian athlete who finished in third place in her pool at the Olympics beat Greece’s Kyriaki Kydonaki (5-0) in the final.

The host of Olympians prevailing in Limassol also had Italy’s Mattia Busato as one of the stars of the day. The Olympian beat Bilal Benkacem of Morocco in the final of Male Kata.    

SUCCESS OF EGYPTIAN ATHLETES

The representatives of the Egyptian delegation topped the final medal table with an impressive tally of 60 medals including 22 golds.

Yasmin Nasr Elgewily opened the gold medal count for the powerhouse nation of the sport with her 4-0 victory over Cyprus’ Irene Kontou in Female Kumite -50kg. Ahlam Youssef earned the second title for Egypt following a 9-1 triumph over Lorena Busa of Italy in the final of Female Kumite -55kg, while Yara Hamza took the crown in Female Kumite -61kg (8-0 in the final against Alessandra Mangiacapra of Italy).

The last title for Egyptian representatives in Female Kumite was taken by Menna Shaaban Okila in Female Kumite +68kg with her 7-0 victory over Clio Ferracuti of Italy.

Italian karatekas took a stand in Male Kumite categories with two golds. Daniele de Vivo won the crown in Male Kumite -75kg after beating Panayotis Loizides of Cyprus 3-1. Meanwhile, Michele Martina dominated the Male Kumite +84kg category following a 4-2 victory over Jessie Da Costa of France.

The rest of the titles in Male Kumite were claimed by Abdel Ali Jina of Morocco who defeated team-mate Oussama Edari in Male Kumite -60kg (2-1), Dionysios Xenos of Greece who upset Aly Ismail of Egypt in Male Kumite -67kg (2-0), and Mathaios Stylianou of Cyprus who beat Italy’s Raoul Santarelli in Male Kumite +84kg (2-1).

CLICK HERE to go to the micro-site of the 2021 Mediterranean Championships.

(Pictures: pjapress.com)