Up-and-coming karatekas took the stage of the World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships today as the new heroes of U21 Male Kumite categories were crowned. The fourth day of competition of the tournament being held in Santiago (Chile) confirmed the raising star status of karatekas who became new World title-holders today. 

Up-and-coming karatekas took the stage of the World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships today as the new heroes of U21 Male Kumite categories were crowned. The fourth day of competition of the tournament being held in Santiago (Chile) confirmed the rising star status of the karatekas who became new World title-holders today. 

After producing a deserving performance in the previous days of competition, Morocco added their third gold medal in the tournament as Yassine Sekouri became world champion of U21 Male Kumite -75kg. The current continental title-holder defeated Hamza Turulja of Bosnia and Herzegovina by 4-0 in a convincing demonstration of abilities.

The most one-sided final today had Raybak Abdesselem of France and Thameur Slimani of Tunisia as protagonists. The athlete from Tunisia proved too strong and claimed a 5-0 victoryu to take the title. Slimani is the defending senior UFAK champion and broght the first gold medal for his ry in the tournament. 

Also opening the gold medal for his ry, Christos-Stefanos Xenos of Greece prevailed in U21 Male Kumite -60kg. The European champion of the category defeated Meshari Alzuabi of Saudi Arabia in the final by a convincing 4-1. 

It was a day of firsts at Polideportivo Estadio Nacional sports hall, as Abilmansur Batyrgali of Kazakhstan also provided the first title for his ry. The young competitor from Kazakhstan who took silver at the continental championships this year edged Omer Abdurrahim Ozer of Turkey by 2-0 in the final of U21 Male Kumite -67kg. 

The last title of the day went to Egypt since Taha Tarek Mahmoud dominated the category of U21 Male Kumite -84kg. The current Senior UFAK champion was on top form and beat favourite Mehdi Filali of France in a tight final. The Egyptian karateka controlled the bout but Filali produced a come-back with a late “Wazari”. The French karateka who takes the sixth place at WKF World ranking tried to recover the differences but Taha Tarek Mahmoud maintained his level and won the bout 3-2. 

The 2019 World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships conclude on Sunday with the U21 Female Kumite and Team Kata competitions. CLICK HERE to go to all the information of the event including results and competition calendar.