The season of international Karate stars this weekend with the opening event of the year: the 2021 Karate 1-Premier League Istanbul.

The season of international Karate stars this weekend with the opening event of the year: the 2021 Karate 1-Premier League Istanbul. As the first international tournament since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, expectations are running high among karatekas. “I am so thrilled to compete again,” said Ugur Aktas.

Turkey’s top-ranked athlete and one of the main stars of the sport in the country, Ugur Aktas epitomises the passion, excitement, and anticipation of the whole Karate world ahead of the Karate 1-Premier League Istanbul.

“I am delighted to be able to finally come back to the tatami after one year. We have never been out of the competition for so long. I am very happy to be on the tatami again,” stated Aktas who leads the WKF World ranking in the category of Male Kumite -84kg.

LOSING THE SENSE OF COMPETING

25-year-old Aktas has become one of the main references of Karate in Turkey after showing tremendous success at the highest level in the last years. The 1^st Dan Black Belt in Shotokan was an underage World and European champion before claiming three European crowns. Aktas is the current European Championships titleholder and he also has the bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships under his belt.

“The hardest thing for me in all this time without events is to lose the sense of competition, that feeling that you get when you win or lose that you only feel in tournaments,” added Aktas.

“Both Winning and losing go together, the two of them are part of the competition. I really like to have this feeling. Unfortunately, we have not been able to have this sensation in over a year,” he adds.

THE ADVANTAGE OF FIGHTING AT HOME

The last international event of the sport was held in Salzburg (Austria) from February 28 to March 1, 2020. In that event, Ugur Aktas won the gold medal in Male Kumite -84kg. Now, a year later, Karate’s biggest event returns to the scene with a competition to be held in Aktas’ home country.

“It is very good that the competition will be held here, in our home. I am usually very glad to compete in Turkey but now that travelling is more difficult, having the event in Turkey is even more of an advantage. I will try to use this advantage in my favour,” said the Turkish star.

Aktas has always performed at a sensational level at home. In the last international event in Istanbul – the 2019 Karate 1-Series A Istanbul – Aktas won the silver medal. The Turkish fan favourite has competed eight times at home and has claimed a total of six medals including the titles at the 2016 Karate 1-Premier League, the 2017 European Championships and the 2013 Junior European Championships.

Success is always in Aktas’ mind. The Turkish star who is the current Grand Winner wants to extend his position of privilege as leader of the WKF World ranking and the Olympic standings.

“I want to continue improving my performance step by step until we get to the Olympic Games. And of course, I want to take gold medals in all the competitions!” said Aktas.