Who will be the next Karate star? As the Karate 1-Premier in Paris is less than two weeks away, this is one the main questions among Karate fans.  The upcoming Karate 1-Premier League in Paris is the setting of choice for young and up-and-coming karatekas to surprise, and the anticipated tournament is traditionally the stage where the new big names of the sport have been crowned. 

Who will be the next Karate star? As the Karate 1-Premier in Paris is less than two weeks away, this is one the main questions among Karate fans. The forthcoming Karate 1-Premier League in Paris is the right place for young and up-and-coming karatekas to cause a sensation, since the anticipated tournament is traditionally the stage where the new big names of the sport are being crowned. 

Rising athletes are setting their eyes on the Karate 1-Premier League in Paris. The tournament in the French city is one of the biggest events of the year and it is regarded as the perfect opportunity for young competitors to make a name for themselves in the discipline.

That was the case last year. In the 2017 edition of the tournament, half of the medallists in individual categories were 24 years old or younger, with four competitors barely in their 20s. Sadriddin Saymatov was one of the up-and-coming karatekas who prevailed in Paris last year. The Uzbek champion used his victory in the French capital as a stepping stone to earning the status of one of the most promising competitors of today’s Karate.

The 20-year-old athlete from Uzbekistan had only participated in three major senior competitions before causing a sensation at Pierre de Coubertin sports hall last year. The flashing karateka scored 24 points in six bouts and allowed only 2 points to get the gold medal in Male Kumite -60kg. Saymatov’s performance was so remarkable that the Uzbek 2017 U21 World Championships runner-up produced one of the highlights of the event with his 6-0 victory over Malaysia’s Senthilkumaran Selvarajoo in the final.

After his triumph in Paris, Saymatov would claim back-to-back victories in the following two Karate 1-Premier League events, in Rotterdam and Dubai, so to become the Grand Winner of the category. The Uzbek Grand Winner was the youngest of all the 12 karatekas earning the best of the best award in 2017, with Irina Zaretska following at 21-years-old.

Japan also demonstrated the top form of their younger generations in Paris last year, and two of their five gold medallists succeeded at only 21-years-old. Miho Miyahara and Natsumi Kawamura prevailed in Female Kumite -50kg and Female Kumite +68kg respectively thus showing the great level of the new names of the sport. France’s Alizee Agier at 22-years-old and Serbia’s Jovana Prekovic at only 21-years were other of the young competitors leaving their mark in Paris last year.

As the sport of Karate is getting closer and closer to making its debut at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the competition is getting fiercer than ever. The most experienced competitors see their predominance at stake for the growing pressure coming from up-and-coming karatekas hoping to take their place in Karate’s elite. The Karate 1-Premier League Paris to be held from January 28 to 28 will be yet another opportunity to learn who will dominate the sport in the coming future.

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