Turkey demonstrated the strength of their grass-root programme as they became the big winners of the 2020 EKF Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships. The tournament which has been held in Budapest (Hungary) this week crowned the new underage continental champions in a celebration of the influence of the sport at younger ages. 

Turkey demonstrated the strength of their grass-root programme as they became the big winners of the 2020 EKF Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships. The tournament which has been held in Budapest (Hungary) this week crowned the new underage continental champions in a celebration of the influence of the sport at younger ages.

The impressive gold medal count for the Turkish delegation continued today in the U21 Male Kumite -60kg. Omer Faruk Ates who had won the continental title four years ago when he was in cadet division upset favourite Christos-Stefanos Xenos of Greece 3-2. With this title, Turkey finishes the event with a tally of 15 medals including six golds. France and Azerbaijan followed in the medal table with 10 and 8 medals respectively.



“After I became European Champion on cadets, I participated in all European Championships but I couldn't win a single medal. I was very unlucky several times. However, I always believed that my luck will turn one day. And in Budapest, my dream came true. It is my last year in these championships, and I won gold! This is the most precious triumph in my career. I want to thank all my coaches who always believed in me. I hope one day I will be European Champion in senior competition,” said Omer Faruk Ates.

SECOND GOLD FOR HUNGARY

Hosts of Hungary celebrated the second title at this event. Zsofia Baranyi became continental champion in U21 Female Kumite -55kg as the representative of the organising country claimed her best result ever with a 1-0 victory over defending title-holder and up-coming star Anna Chernysheva of Russia.

“There are no words to describe this feeling. I am always happy when I win but this gold medal is different because I won it here. I have never felt anything like this before, I felt all the energy coming from the stands and it was like if they gave me the power to win,” said Zsofia Baranyi.

FRANCE TAKE SPOTLIGHT IN FINAL DAY

Powerhouse of France managed to wrap-up the event with a deserving performance in U21 divisions. The third title at this event was claimed in U21 Female Kumite -61kg. Assia Oukhattou confirmed her rising star status; after representing France at the Youth Olympic Games in 2018, she became continental title-holder for the first time with a 3-0 victory over Italy’s Alessandra Mangiacapra.

The fourth crown for the French delegation came in U21 Male Kumite -67 as Younesse Salmi defeated Bojan Boskovic of Montenegro 2-1 to take his first-ever gold in international events.



CLASH OF TITANS

The final of U21 Female Kumite -68kg saw a real clash of titans with two of the most promising stars of European karate clashing for the title. World Championships U21 runner-up Victoria Isaeva of Russia faced Youth Olympic Games champion Annika Saelid of Norway in a thrilling final. The title ended up in Saelid’s hands since she kept the edge to win the title-deciding bout 3-1.

Jelena Pehar of Croatia who had taken silver two years ago opened the gold medal count of the day with a slim 1-0 victory over Portugal’s Catarina Rodrigues in U21 Female Kumite -50kg. Representatives of the Portuguese delegation managed to avenge Rodrigues’ defeat since Tiago Almeida became new European champion in U21 Male Kumite -75kg. Meanwhile, Lora Ziller of Austria added the gold in Budapest to her silver medal at the U21 World Championships following a 4-0 victory over Scotland’s Niamh Junner. Meanwhile, in U21 Male Kumite -86kg Konstantinos Mastrogiannis of Greece upset current World Championships runner-up Raybak Abdesselem of France (4-3). The event concluded with Ihor Lahunov of Ukraine winning gold in U21 Male Kumite +86kg over Montenegro’s Predrag Smolovic (3-0).

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