Japanese Karate enjoyed a memorable day at the Karate 1-Premier League in Halle/Leipzig (Germany). The representatives of the Asian country completed an outstanding first day of Karate action in the German city and confirmed their impressive domination of the Kata categories. 

Japan Karate enjoyed a memorable day at the Karate 1-Premier League in Halle/Leipzig (Germany). The representatives of the Asian country completed an outstanding first day of Karate action in the German city and confirmed their impressive domination in the Kata categories. 

The performance of Japanese Kata karatekas was so exceptional that the two winners of the individual Kata categories will come from the birth nation of the sport. In Male Kata, World champion Ryu Kiyuna confirmed his favourite status and presented a flawless performance to extend his exceptional winning streak. The defending World and Asian title-holder has not lost a bout in over three years and made it to his tenth final in a major international competition after beating fellow Japanese Takuya Uemura by 4-1. 

The Japanese flag will fly high in the final of Male Kata since the title will be contested by Issei Shimbaba. The Amagasaki-born karateka surprised and qualified to the last bout of the tournament after defeating two-time World champion Antonio Diaz of Venezuela by 4-1 in semifinals. Previously, the winner of Karate 1-Premier League in Rotterdam had won all his bouts by 5-0 with the exception of the 4-1 victories over fellow Japanese Yuhei Horiba and Spain’s Sergio Galan. 

The medal count for Japan in Male Kata can be even more remarkable since three out of the four karatekas competing for bronze on Sunday come from the birth nation of the country. 

JAPANESE LADIES SHINE IN FEMALE KATA 

The predominance of Japanese karatekas continued in Female Kata. The competition of the choreographed movements in the female category will also see an all-Japan final since two teammates will clash for gold on Sunday. 

Emiri Iwamoto reached her first final in Karate 1-Premier League in more than a year after producing an impeccable performance in Halle/Leipzig. The Asian champion narrowly edged WKF World Ranking leader Sandra Sanchez of Spain in semifinals to try to improve the silver medal that she got in her last final of the competition in Salzburg last year.  

On the other side of the tatami awaits Japan’s Hikaru Ono. The Oita-native who has won medals in all her three appearances in international competitions beat fellow Japanese Mizuki Ugai by a convincing 5-0 to be in the final. 

Japan will have even more representation on Sunday since Miho Miyahara made it to the final of Female Kumite -50kg. The winner of Karate 1-Premier League in Paris produced an impressive victory by 6-1 over Turkey’s Selva Nur Akkurt to be in her second final of Karate 1-Premier League. 

In order to win gold, the young Japanese karateka will have to beat local hopeful Shara Hubrich. The 20-year-old German karateka surprised by upsetting top competitors such as Sophia Bouderbane of France and Japan Ayaka Tadano to edge Umay Tokcan of Turkey in order to reach her first Karate 1-Premier League final. 

KARATE STAR DOUGLAS BROSE SHOW POWER

Two-time World champion Douglas Brose of Brazil is on the quest to become one of the heroes of the tournament after making it to his first final in Karate 1-Premier League in his first appearance this season. The Brazilian Karate Star demonstrated an impressive resilience and after failing to reach the final stages in his last two tournaments, produced a sensational performance to make it to the last bout of the tournament. The defending Pan American champion convincingly beat current World champion Amir Mehdizadeh of Iran by 4-0 to fight for gold on Sunday. 

“I am very happy to reach the final in my first Karate 1-Premier League this year. The competition is absolutely fierce this year, even harder than a World Championships since many more karatekas from all over the world are competing. I think I am doing a good job for next year and in the quest to 2020 and I have been working very hard, especially in terms of the mental preparation,” declared the Brazilian hero. 

His rival in the final will be Russia’s Evgeny Plakhutin. The 23-year-old karateka qualified for his first Karate 1-Premier League final following a 4-0 triumph over Turkey’s Aykut Kaya. 

The last category of the day is Male Kumite -67kg in which 2016 Grand Winner Vinicius Figueira of Brazil, Montenegro’s Mario Hodzic, Japan’s Hiroto Gomyo and Austria’s Thomas Kaserer are among the karatekas in the race to reach the finals. 

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