The city of Salzburg is set to host one of the largest Karate events of the year when the Austrian city welcomes a record-breaking edition of the Karate 1-Series A. The first-class international tournament is reaching new heights this year in terms of participation, and it is showcasing the growing interest of karatekas to compete at the highest level. 

The city of Salzburg is set to host one of the largest Karate events of the year when the Austrian city will welcome a record-breaking edition of the Karate 1-Series A. The first-class international tournament is reaching new heights this year in terms of participation, and it is showcasing the growing interest of karatekas to compete at the highest level. 

More than 1500 athletes from no less than 88 countries are expected to demonstrate the universality of Karate in what will be a massive celebration of the sport in the Austrian city. The sheer scale of the event is illustrated by the fact that in the Male Kata category alone over 200 competitors will be clashing for gold in Salzburg. 

As a comparison, the most attended event of 2017 was the Karate 1-Premier League Paris with 1235 athletes from 75 countries. Nearly 1200 karatekas from 75 nations travelled to Salzburg last year to participate in the event.

UNDERDOGS READY TO TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT

As the event is one week to start, and as karatekas from all over the world rejoice with the opportunity to fight for the points to improve their position at the WKF World Ranking, the competition in the 2018 Karate 1-Series A Salzburg is set to be fierce. 

World champions Kiyou Shimizu of Japan and Jordan Thomas of England, and Grand Winners Sadriddin Saymatov of Uzbekistan and Stanislav Horuna of Ukraine lead the way as front-runners of the tournament. Just as it happened in the first stop of the 2018 Karate 1-Series A in Guadalajara, surprising results are expected to take over the competition in Salzburg. Underdogs and upcoming karatekas are hoping to claim the spotlight thus following the pattern initiated in the inaugural event of the Karate 1-Series A season barely a month ago. 

In the event in Guadalajara, rising karatekas took the competition by storm. The event was marked by surprising results, such as number 47 in the World Ranking Spain’s Laura Palacio’s victory in Female Kumite +68kg, number 32 in the World Ranking Japan’s Kazumasa Moto’s triumph in Male Kata, and number 36 Lardy Tyron of The Netherlands’ conquest of Male Kumite +84kg. Especially remarkable was Spain’s Sami Ennkhaili’s victory in Male Kumite -67kg as the young Spaniard is placed 350 in WKF World Ranking. 

France and Japan dominated the competition in Salzburg last year with three golds and nine medals, and three golds and ten medals respectively. The 2018 Karate 1-Series A Salzburg will be held at the Sporthalle Alpenstraße from March 2-4.