The second day of action at the 2022 Karate 1-Premier League Fujairah was surprising as new names took over the competition. 

One of the highlights of the final day will be the title-deciding bout in Female Kumite -68kg. Olympians Silvia Semeraro of Italy and Irina Zaretska of Azerbaijan will fight for gold in a true clash of titans. Semeraro who finished in fifth place in the Olympics edged Olympic champion Feryal Abdelaziz of Egypt in the semi-finals 1-1. Meanwhile, Zaretska who is the Olympic Games silver medallist and current World champion defeated Halyna Melnyk of Ukraine 4-1.

Olympian Anita Serogina of Ukraine demonstrated to continue on top form as she qualified for the final of Female Kumite -61kg, her fourth consecutive title-deciding bout in major events. The current World Championships runner-up beat Anna Rodina of Russia 2-1 and will clash for gold against Alessandra Mangiacapra of Italy. It will be the first Karate 1-Premier League final for the 22-year-old karateka who defeated Kazakhstan’s Assel Kanay in the semi-finals 3-0.

PROMISING KARATEKAS SHINE IN MALE KATA

Young promising karatekas were on star mode in Male Kata as the final will have 20-year-old Enes Ozdemir of Turkey and 26-year-old Kazumasa Moto of Japan clashing for gold. Ozdemir beat Roman Heydarov of Azerbaijan in the semi-finals while Moto surprised Gakuji Tozaki of the USA, in a successful day for Shotokan style in Kata.

In Female Kumite +68kg, World champion Maria Torres of Spain qualified for the final after beating Menna Shaaban Okila of Egypt 5-3, while Nancy Garcia of France edged Titta Keinanen of Finland to reach her first Karate 1-Premier League final in nearly four years.

DEMONSTRATION OF STRENGTH OF EGYPTIAN TEAM

The Egyptian delegation showcased tremendous strength as they claimed a complete sweep of the categories Male Kumite -84kg and Male Kumite +84kg.

The final of Male Kumite -84kg will have Egypt’s Mohamed Ramadan and Youssef Badawy head-to-head for the title. Meanwhile, the final of Male Kumite +84kg will see Egypt’s Taha Mahmoud and Hazem Mohamed clashing for gold.

The bronze medal bouts start at 10:00 (local time GMT+4) and the finals are scheduled to start at 15.30 (local time GMT +4). All the medal bouts are available on the WKF YouTube channel and a number of TV networks around the world

CLICK HERE to go to the micro-site of Karate 1-Premier League Fujairah. 

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