The moment that Karate fans have been waiting for finally arrived and the Karate competition of the 2019 European Games started in Minsk (Belarus). Front-runners took the spotlight in the morning session of the opening day at Chizhovka Arena sports. Sandra Sanchez, Damian Quintero, Eleni Chatziliadou, Jonathan Horne and Ugur Aktas were among the favourites prevailing in the first day of the anticipated Karate competition in Minsk.  

The moment that Karate fans have been waiting for finally arrived and the Karate competition of the 2019 European Games started in Minsk (Belarus). Front-runners took the spotlight in the morning session of the opening day as Sandra Sanchez, Damian Quintero, Eleni Chatziliadou, Jonathan Horne and Ugur Aktas were among the favourites prevailing in the first day of the anticipated Karate competition in Minsk.  

Spain showed strength in Kata and claimed two of the four spots in the finals of the category. World and European champion Sandra Sanchez continued on outstanding form and paved the way for Spain’s success in Kata after dominating the pools of the competition. The current European Games title-holder excelled with her “Papuren” kata in the last pool and got a score of 27.60 to reach her seventh final in seven events this year. 

“We are in the final of the second European Games; we are very happy, but we still have one Kata to make, so we are calm but also enjoying the moment. We are really looking forward to the final,” said Sandra Sanchez. 

Her rival in the final is Viviana Bottaro of Italy who confirmed her favourite status with a forceful performance in Minsk. The current European Championships runner-up qualified for the final with a score of 27.06 in her “Papuren” kata. It will be Bottaro’s second final this year after her silver medal at the continental championships. 

“I am super excited to be in the final. The ambiance today was magnificent and I really enjoyed the impact that it had on our performance. Regarding the final, we will see what happens. It will be a beautiful moment for me, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to experience it,” said Bottaro. 

DAMIAN QUINTERO VS ALI SOFUOGLU IN MALE KATA

Spain’s Damian Quintero completed the domination of the Iberian country in Kata and reached the final so to aim for his second European Games gold medal. The current title-holder prevailed in the last pool with “Suparinpei” kata and a score of 27.22. The defending European champion has made it to six finals in seven events this year. 

“Half of the work is already done, and this afternoon we will see if we can complete the job. We are happy because four years ago we managed to be up there (on the podium) and four years later it seems that we are still on form. We hope to continue this great feeling and hopefully we will be lucky enough in the final,” said Damian Quintero. 

Just as it happened in the final of the European Championships, the other spot in the final will be for Turkey’s Ali Sofuoglu. The promising Turkish karateka who is the current continental runner-up qualified for the final with a score of 27.12 in his "Gojushiho Sho" kata. 

FAVOURITES TAKE A STAND IN FEMALE KUMITE 

The first day of action saw competitors from the categories Female Kumite -68kg and Female Kumite +68kg showing their abilities on the fantastic tatamis of Chizhovka Arena. Laura Palacio of Spain and Eleni Chatzilidou of Greece used their favourite status to qualify for the semi-finals. The Spanish karateka who is the current European champion topped the pool with two wins and one draw while the defending World champion form Greece also took two victories and one draw to dominate the pool. Their rivals in semi-finals will be Titta Keinanen of Finland and Meltem Hocaoglu of Turkey. Second-placed in WKF World ranking Keinanen finished with one victory and two draws while Hocaoglu had two wins and one draw. 

UGUR AKTAS AND JONATHAN HORNE ON STELLAR MODE 

Germany’s Jonathan Horne and Turkey’s Ugur Aktas also prevailed in the morning session. The current World and European champion from Germany made it to the semi-finals of Male Kumite +84kg after claiming one win and two draws, so to reach his second title-deciding bout of the season. The pool was topped by Asiman Gurbanli of Azerbaijan who surprised with two victories and one draw for his second final this year after his title in Karate 1-Series A Salzburg. 

The two other semi-finals spots in the category were claimed by Andjelo Kvesic from Croatia and Gogita Arkania from Georgia. Andjelo Kvesic who is European Championships bronze medallist finished with two wins and one draw while experienced Arkania ended with one win and two draws.  

Turkey’s Ugur Aktas continues demonstrating magnificent form and after winning five medals in six events this year qualified for the semi-finals following an impressive performance in Minsk. The current European champion finished the pool with three victories in three matches. Michele Martina of Italy also qualified for the semi-finals of Male Kumite -84kg in the pool after taking one win, a spectacular victory by "Ippon" over Belarus' Anton Isaku when the last bout of the pool was just two seconds to finish. 

The last semi-finals spots in Male Kumite -84kg were taken by Ivan Kvesic of Croatia and Valerii Chobotar of Ukraine. World champion Kvesic continued the pattern of title-holders succeeding today in Minsk and won all three matches today to qualify for semi-finals. Meanwhile, Chobotar who is the World Championships runner-up finished with two wins and one defeat to make it to semi-finals. 

The finals in the first day of competition are scheduled from 17.25 to 18.41 (local times).