The action-packed second day of competition at the Karate 1-Premier League in Rotterdam placed top favourites in the finals of the thrilling event. The title-deciding bouts to be held on Sunday will be electrifying as Karate Stars and Grand Winners will clash against newcomers in a dazzling quest to dominate international Karate.

The action-packed second day of competition at the Karate 1-Premier League in Rotterdam placed top favourites in the finals of the thrilling event. The title-deciding bouts to be held on Sunday will be electrifying as Karate Stars and Grand Winners will clash against newcomers in a dazzling quest to dominate international Karate.

Japan’s Ryutaro Araga demonstrated once again that he currently is one of Karate’s biggest forces. After his victory in the 2016 World Championships and his triumph in Karate 1-Premier League in Paris, the Karate Star achieved his ninth consecutive final in international competitions. The defending World champion will try to extend the unbeaten record he maitains since 2015 in an anticipated final against The Netherlands’ Rene Small. The local hero was the only representative of the host country to make it to the title-deciding bouts and he will count with the support from the packed stands on his side.

Thomas Scott dazzles in Rotterdam

Karate Star Thomas Scott took the spotlight of the event as the second placed in the World ranking presented a sensational performance in Male Kumite -75kg. The captain of Team USA prevailed during the second day of action and qualified for the final of the competition. It will be his first final in international competitions since his victory in 2016 Karate 1-Premier League in Paris. The 2016 Pan American Championships bronze medallist will meet in the last day France's Logan da Costa. The French karateka will try to shock in his first final in Karate 1-Premier League.

Grand Winners and World Champions take prominence in day 2

2016 Grand Winner Anastasiya Stepashko of Ukraine was other of the main focus of attention at #Karate1Rotterdam, as the crowned leader of last year’s edition of Karate 1-Premier League reached the final stage of competition of Female Kumite +68kg. The 2016 Grand Winner qualified for her first final in over a year after defeating front-runner Eleni Chatziliadou of Greece in semifinals. At the other side of the tatami in the final the Ukrainian karateka will find Japan’s Ayumi Uekusa who will try to increase the tally of medals for the birth nation of the sport. The current World Champion won bronze in Paris and hopes to earn her third gold medal in Karate 1-Premier League events.

The list of World champions competing in the last day at the Rotterdam tournament is completed with Austria’s Alisa Buchinger. In her debut this season after her impressive victory at home on the World Championships, Buchinger confirmed her status as reining karateka in Female Kumite -68kg and made it to the final. Her rival in the title-deciding bout will be Iryna Zaretska of Azerbaijan, who defeated front-runners such as France’s Alizee Agier and Japan’s Kayo Someya to fight for gold in Rotterdam.

Time for newcomers

The rest of the categories were shocked by the successful performances of rising names of the sport who surprised and defeated top favourites. That was the case of Female Kumite -55kg, a category that will see Croatia’s Alesandra Hasani and Ukraine’s Anzhelika Teryluga in the final. It will be the first title-deciding bout in three appearances for the Croatian karateka while the Ukrainian European championships runner-up will try to win her first gold medal since her victory in 2015 Karate 1-Premier League in Coburg.

In Female Kumite -61kg Haya Jumaa of Canada and China’s Xiaoyan Yin will star in their first final at Karate 1-Premier League as the two Karatekas stunned winning  their ticket to the last day of competition.

Canadian delegation had even more reasons to celebrate as Daniel Gaysinsky also reached the final in the Male Kumite +84kg category. It will be the first final in international competitions for the young Canadian who will clash for gold against Germany’s Jonathan Horne. The defending European Champion from Germany aims at his seventh gold medal in Karate 1-Premier League.

Finals and bronze medal bouts will be held on Sunday. The last day of the event will be streamed live on Karateworld.tv.

About Karate World TV Channel 

The Karate World TV Channel gives fans around the world a front row seat to view all the Karate 1- Premier League events. By signing to the Karate World TV Channel, Karate fans will receive all the excitement of the 2017 Karate 1-Premier League in HD, including all five tournaments LIVE, On-demand event replays, Video On Demand and Exclusive Content. 

Sign up for the Karate World TV Channel HERE

About Karate 1 – Premier League 

The Karate1-Premier League- is the most important league event in the world of Karate. It comprises of a number of the most prominent Karate competitions, with the cities of Paris (France), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Dubai (UAE), Rabat (Morocco) and Halle/Leipzig (Germany) acting as the stops of this year’s edition.

The Karate 1-Premier League will also be one of the key elements in the road to the Olympic qualification since the points to be allocated in Karate 1-Premier League tournaments will play an essential role in the configuration of the World ranking. 

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