Brazilian Karatekas headlined the quest to glory in the second day of competition of the 2016 Karate Pan American Championships being held in Rio de Janeiro. 

Brazilian Karatekas headlined the quest to glory in the second day of competition of the 2016 Karate Pan American Championships being held in Rio de Janeiro. The success of local athletes on Friday helped the host country to take the top position of the ranking of the event thus far, with a tally of nine medals.

Douglas Brose in Male Kumite -60kg and Beatriz Mafra in Female Kumite -50kg were crowned in their categories and extended Hernani Verissimo's triumph in Male Kumite -75kg in the first day, so to continue Brazilian victorious path in the tournament. 

Karate Star Douglas Brose worked his magic to clinch his third consecutive continental title in a demonstration of domination in the category. The Brazilian idol used the support from the stands to pave the way to gold and to become one of the sensations of the event in Rio de Janeiro. The 30-years old two-time World champion beat Colombia's Andres Rendon in the final and confirmed his star status, much to the delight of Brazilian Karate enthusiasts. 

Local Karate fans had more reasons to celebrate since Beatriz Mafra prevailed in Female Kumite -50kg. The young Brazilian Karateka beat Peru's Andrea Hidalgo in the final to improve the fifth position in the 2015 Pan American Championships, thus winning his first gold medal in major international competition. 

The other categories being disputed on Friday increased the number of countries represented in the medal table of the tournament. Argentina's Giuliana Novak gave the South American country the first gold medal in the competition after beating Peru's Alessandra Vindrola in the final of Female Kumite -55kg. Ecuador also claimed a spot in the final standings of the championship following Valeria Echever's triumph in Female Kumite +68kg. 

Dominican Karatekas took the spotlight in the second day of competition after claiming two gold medals. Deivis Ferreras defeated Venezuela's Andres Madera to dominate in Male Kumite -67kg, while Jorge Perez upset local hopeful Alberto Azevedo in Male Kumite -84kg to put the Caribbean country in third position of the medal table. 

The action continues in Rio de Janeiro in Saturday with the third and last day of the thrilling competition. 

Click here for more information on the 2016 Karate Pan American championships. 

Follow the action of Pan American Karate Championships on WKF Social Media. Karate fans are invited to participate in the excitement using the hashtag #KarateRio2016.