World Championships Senior

Quintero vs Sofuoglu and Ono vs Grace: thrilling finals of Kata categories in #KarateBudapest2023

2023-10-24

Quintero vs Sofuoglu and Ono vs Grace: thrilling finals of Kata categories in #KarateBudapest2023

The finals of Kata categories in the 2023 World Karate Senior Championships being held in Budapest (Hungary) will be a thrilling clash of different generations of the sport. Damian Quintero of Spain vs Ali Sofuoglu of Turkiye, and Mo Sheung Grace Lau of Hong Kong vs Hikaru Ono of Japan are the finals of Kata in the 2023 edition of Karate’s biggest event.

ALI SOFUOGLU SURPRISES IN MALE KATA

The Male Kata divisions will have defending World Championships runner-up Damian Quintero of Spain fighting for gold against two-time continental champion Ali Sofuoglu of Turkiye.

Spain’s Kata hero and Olympic Games silver medallist Quintero topped the final pool with a score of 43.1 with “Ana Dai” kata while Olympic Games bronze medallist Sofuoglu headed his pool with 43.5 with “Gojushiho Dai” kata.


It will be Quintero’s fourth World Championships final after claiming silver in the last three editions of the event. Quintero is the current continental gold medallist and 12-time Karate 1-Premier League winner.


Meanwhile, Sofuoglu produced the big upset of the day as he defeated top favourite and current Grand Winner Kakeru Nishiyama of Japan. The Turkish karateka therefore reaches his first World Championships final after taking two bronze medals.

 

The bronze medal matches will be the following:

Ariel Torres (USA) vs Karim Waleed Ghaly (EGY)

Mattia Busato (ITA) vs Kakeru Nishiyama (JPN)

 

FAVOURITES RULE FEMALE KATA

The final of #KarateBudapest2023 in Female Kata will be a clash between the two frontrunners of the category, Mo Sheung Grace Lau of Hong Kong and Hikaru Ono of Japan. Number one and two of the WKF World Ranking will clash for the title after prevailing in their pools.

 

Mo Sheung Grace Lau got a score of 43.0 with “Papuren” kata while Ono received a score of 43.3 with “Suparinpei” Kata.

 

Hikaru Ono is the current World Championships runner-up and in her second final, she will try to recover the crown for Japan after two editions of absence. Meanwhile, Mo Sheung Grace Lau is one of Karate’s up-and-coming rising stars and the current continental champion and Olympic Games bronze medallist. It will be her first World Championships final after getting bronze in her last two appearances at the event.

 

The final of Male Kata is scheduled for Saturday at 18.00 while the final of Female Kata will be held Saturday at 12:15.

 

The bronze medal matches will be the following:

Sakura Kokumai (USA) vs Paola Garcia Lozano (ESP)

Terryana D’Onofrio (ITA) vs Dilara Bozan (TUR)

 

Follow the ELIMINATIONS LIVE on the WKF YouTube Channel

 

The FINALS will be available on a number of TV Networks. FULL LIST OF TV PROVIDERS.

 

2023 WORLD SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS