The 2022 World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships started today in Konya (Turkiye). Powerhouse nations prevailed today as they capitalised on the quest to the finals of the day thus demonstrating the strength of youth Karate in their countries.

In the Cadet Kata categories, Japan placed their two representatives in the finals. Azusa Takata reached the title-deciding bout in the female competition while Ukyo Tatsumi followed suit in the male division. Their rivals will be Nadlima Layla from Indonesia and Jonas Abu Wahib of Germany respectively.

Japan’s domination of Kata divisions continued in Junior categories. Aoba Furukawa topped her pool in the female competition and Rizuki Saito became the finalist in the male tournament. The two Japanese karatekas will clash for gold against Paola Garcia Lozano of Spain and Furkan Kaynar of Turkiye who gave hosts reasons to celebrate with his performance at home.

In the category of U21, Japanese Kata karatekas also demonstrated their potential. Mirisa Ohuchi reached the final of U21 Female Kata as Sakichi Abe of Japan confirmed his status as one of the main favourites of the event with a ticket to the finals in U21 Male Kata. The two front-runners from Japan will meet Damayanti Marzella Sekar of Indonesia and Duc Anh Nguyen of Vietnam, respectively.

UNIVERSALITY OF KARATE IN KUMITE CATEGORIES

The universality of the sport was showcased today as no less than 10 different countries won the ticket to the finals in Cadet Kumite categories today.

Mustafa Islam Ogragli brought joy to the local fans as he took the flag of the organising country to the final bout of Cadet Kumite Male -63kg. His rival in the title-deciding bout is Nazim Douaidi of Algeria.

The Egyptian delegation also showed its pre-eminence in Kumite with two spots in the finals. In Cadet Kumite Male -57kg, Mohamed Ashraf Mohamed of Egypt qualified for the gold medal bout against Thomas Krijinen of the Netherlands. Meanwhile, in Cadet Kumite Male -52kg Abdalla Aly Eltohamy earned the second final ticket for Egypt. He will clash for gold against Heidar Safi of Germany.

Two Asian countries will fight for the gold medal in Cadet Kumite Male -70kg as Waleed Qatamish of Jordan will meet Alikhan Kadyrgali of Kazakhstan for the crown.

Meanwhile, European nations took a stand in the last two categories of the day. The title in Cadet Kumite Male +70kg will go to either Ilias Psomas of Greece or Saveli Bolotskihh of Estonia, while the new world champion in Cadet Kumite Female +54kg will be either Mireia Bejarano of Spain or Sara Tomic of Croatia.   

The competition returns Thursday with the second day of action from Konya. CLICK HERE to go to the micro-site of the 2022 World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships.