New names took the spotlight of the second day of action of the Karate 1-Series A in Montreal. Surprising results took over the competition as favourites suffered major upsets from up-and-coming stars. 

New names took the spotlight of the second day of action of the Karate 1-Series A in Montreal. Surprising results took over the competition as favourites suffered major upsets from up-and-coming stars. 

Japanese karatekas continued their successful performance in Montreal with five more spots in the finals. The title-deciding bout in Female Kata will be an All-Japan encounter just as it happened yesterday in Male Kata. Maho Ono and Hikaru Ono will clash for gold after upsetting top favourites in the event. Maho Ono topped the final pool with her performance of “Chatanyara Kushanku” kata and a score of 25.84 while Hikaru Ono dominated the pool with “Suparinpei” kata and a score of 26.48. 

Yugo Kozaki claimed the third qualification for the finals of Japanese representatives today following a forceful demonstration in Male Kumite -67kg. The Japanese karateka who won the U21 continental title this year defeated Kazakhstan’s Didar Amirali in semi-finals 4-3. The other spot in the final is for Burak Uygur of Turkey who made it to his second final this year after taking silver in Karate 1-Premier League Rabat. The current Grand Winner of the category edged Masamichi Funahasi of Japan in semi-finals (1-1). 

Sago Naoto followed suit and qualified for the final in Male Kumite -60kg. The young Japanese karateka who is the current World Championships runner-up of the category made it to his first final this year following a 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan’s Yerkinbek Baitureyev (3-1). Naoto will clash for gold against one of the karatekas on top form this season, Darkhan Assadilov. The Kazakh karateka has taken three gold medals in five events this year and aims at his sixth medal of the season after beating Grand Winner Eray Samdan of Turkey 3-1 in semi-finals. 

The last ticket to the finals for Japanese athletes was claimed by Kayo Someya in Female Kumite -84kg. The Japanese karateka had not qualified for the last day of competition since taking silver in the Karate 1-Premier League Paris. Someya beat Greece’s Kyriaki Kydonaki in semi-finals 2-0. Silvia Semeraro of Italy will wait on the other side of the tatami after her demonstration in semi-finals, a 6-0 victory over China’s Li Gong. 

Top-ranked karatekas will meet in the final of Male Kumite -75kg as Thomas Scott of the USA will fight for the title against Erman Eltemur of Turkey. Scott is ranked sixth in WKF World ranking and reached his first final this year since his triumph at the 2019 Pan American Championships following a 6-4 victory in semi-finals over Kazakhstan’s Yermek Ainazarov. Meanwhile, eighth-ranked Eltemur will clash for his first title in over three years after edging World champion Bahman Ghoncheh Asgari of Iran. 

The last final of the day was completed by Johanna Kneer of Germany and Clio Ferracuti of Italy in Female Kumite +68kg. The German karateka qualified for her first final of the season while Ferracuti who had won silver at the 2019 Karate 1-Premier League Dubai beat Hamideh Abbsali of Iran in semi-finals 2-0. 

The finals are scheduled for Sunday, June 23 from 15.00 to 18.00 (local time).