The Japanese Karatekas who participated this past weekend in the Karate 1-Premier League in Salzburg returned home with plenty of extra baggage. The delegation of the Asian nation topped the medal standings by country of the fifth event of the 2016 Karate 1-Premier League after claiming no less than 10 medals in the tournament.

The Japanese Karatekas who participated this past weekend in the Karate 1-Premier League in Salzburg returned home with plenty of extra baggage. The delegation of the Asian nation topped the medal standings of the fifth event of the 2016 Karate 1-Premier League after claiming no less than 10 medals in the tournament.

Five of the 14 categories held in Salzburg ended with a Japanese athlete on top of the podium, and two of the finals registered a clash between Japanese representatives. This domination resulted in a tally of ten medals, spread over five gold, two silver and three bronze. The second country in the final standings was the host nation of Austria, with five awards.

The Female Kata competition was one category in which two Japanese Karatekas met on the final. Karate Star Kiyou Shimizu signed her fifth gold medal in five international events after beating Emiri Iwamoto, thus stating the Japanese authority in the event. In Male Kumite -75kg Daisuke Watanabe won his second gold medal in Karate 1-Premier League events following his triumph over fellow countryman Ken Nishimura.

Another Japanese star in the event was Ryutaro Araga. The world runner-up confirmed his status in the Male Kumite -84 kg and beat Kosovo’s Alvin Karaqi to win his second gold medal in Karate 1-Premier League competitions this season.

In a major upset among the Karate fans of the host country, Ayaka Tadano extended the predominance of Japanese representatives in the tournament after clinching a hard-fought victory over local heroine Bettina Plank in Female Kumite -50kg, thus continuing the sweeping performance of Japanese athletes in the finals of the tournament in Salzburg.

World championship bronze medallist Ayumi Uekusa also reached the top of the podium to clinch her first gold medal in Karate 1-Premier League events in three years following her victory over Finland’s Helena Kuusisto in Female Kumite +68kg, thus wrapping the golden performance of Japanese Karatekas in Salzburg.

The ample list of athletes from the Asian country who received awards in the Karate 1-Premier League event held this past weekend is completed with bronze medallists Issei Shimbaba in Male Kata, Natsumi Kawamura in Female Kumite +68kg and Kayo Someya in Female Kumite -68kg.

The standings by countries of the previous Karate 1-Premier League events this year were topped by Italy in Dubai, Egypt in Sharm El-Sheikh and France both in Rotterdam and Paris.

Click here to watch the full stream of the Finals of the Karate 1-Premier League in Salzburg on WKF’s YouTube channel.