Top karatekas such as Ryo Kiyuna, Damian Quintero, Giana Lotfy and Ukrainian and Turkish athletes headlined the list of Karate fan favourites succeeding in the second day of competition of the Karate 1-Premier League Rabat. The first-class athletes stunned on their quest to the title-deciding bouts of the third stop of the season of Karate’s biggest international events. 

Top karatekas such as Ryo Kiyuna, Damian Quintero, Giana Lotfy and representatives of Ukraine and Turkey succeeded in the second day of competition of the Karate 1-Premier League Rabat. New names and up-and-coming athletes stunned on their quest to the title-deciding bouts of the spectacular event in Rabat. 

RYO KIYUNA AND DAMIAN QUINTERO FOR GOLD IN MALE KATA

Just as it happened in Female Kata yesterday, the two top competitors in Male Kata will compete for the title in Rabat. Ryo Kiyuna of Japan and Damian Quintero of Spain will clash for gold for the third time this year as they prevailed in the pool rounds. Current Grand Winner Ryo Kiyuna took the highest score of the last round with an impressive 28.2 in his “Anan Dai” kata. Meanwhile, Damian Quintero reached his fifth final in five events this year after dominating the pool with his “Chatanyara Kushanku” kata (score of 26.68). 

CLASH FOR DOMINATION OF OLYMPIC STANDINGS

The final of Female Kumite -61kg will see the two top-ranked karatekas in the Olympic standings of the category clashing head to head for the title. Giana Lotfy of Egypt will fight for gold against Xiaoyan Yin of China in a bout for the domination of the category. Two-time world champion Lotfy heads the standings and edged Laura Sivert of France in semi-finals by “Hantei” or decision. Former Grand Winner Xiaoyan Yin who is placed in the second position in the Olympic standings defeated the current owner of the golden karate-gi Gwendoline Philippe of France by a slim 4-3 in semi-finals. 

“This is my third final this year in Karate 1-Premier League. I am very happy to be in the final again and I hope that I can get gold this time,” said Giana Lotfy who has taken two silver medals this season. 

SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE OF UKRAINIAN KARATEKAS 

Ukraine wrapped up the day with an impressive performance. After Anzhelika Terliuga's and Stanislav Horuna's success on the first day, the Ukrainian representatives showed top form taking two more spots in the last day of competition. Valerii Chobotar qualified for his first ever final following a 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan’s Igor Chikhmarev in the semi-finals of Male Kumite -84kg. His rival in the title-deciding bout will be Ryutaro Araga of Japan who made it to his first title-deciding bout this year after beating Grand Winner Ugur Aktas in semi-finals 4-2. 

The other ticket for the finals for Ukrainian representatives today went to Halyna Melnyk who surprised in Female Kumite -68kg. The Ukrainian karateka beat Germany’s Johanna Kneer in semi-finals to make it to her first-ever final in international competitions. The clash for the gold medal in this category will have Elena Quirici of Switzerland as the second contender. After winning the title in Paris, the Swiss current European Championships runner-up edged Japan’s Kayo Someya to make it to the last day of competition.  

TWO MORE FINALS FOR TURKEY

Turkish karatekas also joined the Karate celebration today and placed two more of their representatives in the finals. Meltem Hocaoglu extended the success of the delegation of the powerhouse nation of the sport with her qualification to the title-deciding bout of Female Kumite +68kg. Following the pattern of today’s competition, it will be Hocaoglu’s first final this year. 

Also making her debut in Karate 1-Premier League finals, Mexico’s Guadalupe Quintal Catzin will be on the other side of the tatami in this category. The Mexican karateka who won the Pan American title in 2015 edged Maria Torres of Spain in semi-finals 1-0 to qualify for the clash for gold. 

The list of finalists is completed with Sajad Ganzjadeh of Iran and Alparslan Yamanoglu of Turkey who will fight for the title in Male Kumite +84kg. Former Grand Winner Sajad Ganzjadeh defeated fellow team-mate Saleh Abazari in semi-finals 3-1 to make it to his first final this year while Alparslan Yamanoglu became the fifth Turkish finalist in Rabat following a triumph by ‘Hantei’ or decision in semi-finals over defending Grand Winner Jonathan Horne. 

The Karate 1-Premier League Rabat will conclude tomorrow with the crowning of the new heroes of the sport. All the medal bouts on Sunday will be streamed LIVE on karateworld.tv