It was a memorable day for upcoming karatekas as new Karate heroes were crowned in Tokyo at the last stop of the 2018 Karate 1-Premier League.  The final event of the season concluded on Sunday in a celebration of the sport.  The new Grand Winners took the spotlight of the competition as the 2018 edition of Karate’s first-class series of events came to an end in Tokyo. 

It was a memorable day for upcoming karatekas as new Karate heroes were crowned in Tokyo at the last stop of the 2018 Karate 1-Premier League. The final event of the season concluded on Sunday in a celebration of the sport. The new Grand Winners took the spotlight of the competition as the 2018 edition of Karate’s first-class series of events came to an end in Tokyo. 

NEW GRAND WINNERS SUCCEED IN TOKYO 

Turkish and French karatekas were among the big heroes here in Tokyo. Three of the newly-proclaimed Grand Winners from Turkey, Ugur Aktas, Eray Samdan and Burak Uygur celebrated their new status as Karate’s “Best of the Best” with gold medals in Tokyo. Promising Eray Samdan overpowered France’s Kajith Kanagasingam in the final of Male Kumite -60kg (4-1) while Burak Uygur got gold in Male Kumite -67kg after winning by ‘Kiken’ or no-show by his opponent Hiroto Shinohara of Japan. Meanwhile, Ugur Aktas beat Japan’s Rikito Shimoda, much to the disappointment of local karate fans (3-0)

“I really wanted to win gold here. I had studied my opponent, and when the bout started, I felt really good, so I am happy that I could get the gold medal,” said Ugur Aktas who was proclaimed new Grand Winner. “It is great to be a Grand Winner. It means that you have to perform at a great level throughout the year. It gives me the confidence to continue next year and to keep getting more points for the Olympic standings,” added the new “Best of the Best” karateka. 

In Female Kumite -61kg, Gwendoline Philippe of France also celebrated her new Grand Winner award. Confirming her status as one of Karate’s biggest rising stars, the competitor who had participated in junior categories less than a year ago won the title and the Grand Winner recognition after beating Alexandra Grande in the final. The 19-year-old karateka scored a “Yuko” to get a slim victory by 1-0.  

Gwendoline Philippe’s victory paved the way to team-mate Alizee Agier’s success. Leading the category of Female Kumite -68kg, Alizee Agier also won the gold medal and the Grand Winner award. The 24-year-old French karateka only needed one “Yuko” to beat Switzerland’s Elena Quirici in the final 1-0. 

French karatekas completed their excellent performance in Tokyo with the biggest upset of the event. Nancy Garcia of France beat current World Champion, Grand Winner and top favourite Ayumi Uekusa. The Japanese karateka, who had secured the Grand Winner award one more year, was out-powered by the 22-year-old French karateka. Ayumi Uekusa, having the support from the stands, scored one “Yuko”, but Nancy Garcia took two of the one-point actions to win the bout 2-1. 

KIYOU SHIMIZU AND RYO KIUYUNA EXCEL IN KATA

The Karate 1-Premier League Tokyo saw continued success for Japan in Kata categories. The representatives of the host country won both gold medals in Kata here with Ryo Kiyuna and Kiyou Shimizu taking the honours. 

In the all-Japan final of Male Kata, Ryo Kiyuna defeated team-mate Kazumasa Moto by unanimous decision (5-0). The two-time World champion from Japan excelled in his “Anan Dai” kata and becomes the new “Best of the Best” in the category. 

“This tournament is very important as it is one of the few major international events being held in Japan. I am very thankful to all the spectators that filled up the arena today. We could show them how great the international Karate competition is. I hope that this great sporting demonstration was a fantastic motivation especially for kids,” said Ryo Kiyuna. 

Performing a flawless “Chatanyara Kushanku” kata, Kiyou Shimizu claimed her fourth Karate 1-Premier League title of the season in the Female Kata competition. The two-time World champion defeated Spain’s Sandra Sanchez by 4-1 and became one of the big stars of the event. 

“This competition is the last tournament before the World Championships in Madrid so I had a lot of pressure to perform well here, especially considering that I compete at home. I got a good result and it is great news for the World Championships in Madrid,” said Kiyou Shimizu. 

"I have had a lot of support from the audience. This put pressure on me but it also gave me the motivation I needed to succeed in this event," added the two-time World champion. 

JAPAN CLAIM FIVE GOLD MEDALS

The representatives of the birth nation of the sport topped the medal table of the tournament with a total of 24 medals including five golds. Miho Miyahara followed Kiyuna and Shimizu’s steps and prevailed in Female Kumite -50kg. Rising star and two-time Karate 1-Premier League gold medallist, Miyahara defeated Spain’s Gema Morales as the 22-year-old Japanese karateka proved to be too strong in the final 5-2.  

Shiori Nakamura also took the flag of the organising country to the top of the podium. The 25-year-old competitor presented an outstanding level and defeated Kazakhstan’s Sabina Zakharova by 6-0 in a demonstration of offensive karate.

The last gold for Japan in individual categories came in Male Kumite +84kg. Hideyoshi Kagawa upset Gogita Arkania of Georgia and won the bout and the title by 2-0, so to wrap up the excellent performance of local karatekas at home in Tokyo. 

Japan could have claimed one more gold but Italy’s Luigi Busa used his experience to prevent another triumph of the representatives of the host nation. In Male Kumite -75kg, the Italian fan favourite defeated Japan’s Yuta Mori in the final after scoring an “Ippon” that counteracted the two “Yuko” by the Japanese athlete (3-1). 

With the medal awards and the proclamation of the 2018 Grand Winners, the season of Karate 1-Premier League concluded in Tokyo. The 2018 edition of Karate’s first-class series of international events had stops in Paris (France), Dubai (UAE), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Rabat (Morocco), Istanbul (Turkey), Berlin (Germany) and finished with the thrilling event in Tokyo (Japan).