The 2nd and last day of the World Games in Birmingham (USA) gave rise to some very great fights and some very great winners.
Youssef Badawy, at only 21 years old, asserts himself as the boss of -84 kg, In +84 kg, the Spaniard Babacar Seck is increasingly asserting himself as one of the tenors. Abdelaziz (-75 kg), Serogina (-61 kg), Semeraro (-68 kg) and Berultseva (+68 kg) are also gold medalists.
In the nations ranking, Spain finished 1st (2 gold, 2 silver), ahead of Egypt (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) and Ukraine (2 gold, 1 silver).
By Ludovic Mauchien / Photo: World Games/WKF
-75 KG : ABDELAZIZ AS A CHAMPION, HORUNA SILVER
Karate as we like it. A final as we love them. Abdalla Abdelaziz and Stanislav Horuna fought a high-level duel, finally won by the Egyptian 6-3, who won a 4th gold medal after his 3 continental titles. The 2 champions had already given a recital during their pool fight concluded by a win for the Ukrainian (6-5).
Horuna, little in shape at the European championships, has since recovered. Winner of all his pool fights, he atomized the world champion Otabolaev in the ½ final (8-0). The latter managed to take the bronze at the expense of the US Thomas Scott (2-1).
Final
Abdelaziz (Egy) b. Horuna (Ukr), 6-3
Bronze
Otabolaev (Uz) b. Scott (USA), 2-1
Podium
1. Abdelaziz (Egy)
2. Horuna (Ukr)
3. Otabolaev (Uz)
-84 KG : BADAWY IS THE MASTER
World champion at the age of 20 in Dubai in November, world No. 1, Youssef Badawi (in blue in the photo) has established himself as the boss of the category. Winner 5-0 of Moroccan Ech-Chaabi in pool, however, he had to wait for the referees’ decision to win gold (6-6). In the ½ final, he had dominated the Croatian Ivan Kvesic (4-4).
The latter lost again in the match for bronze against the surprising American Kamran Madani, who won his second international medal.
Final
Badawy (Egy) b. Ech-Chaabi (Tue), 6-6 (decision)
Bronze
Madani (USA) b. I. Kvesic (Cro), 4-0
Podium
1. Badawy (Egy)
2. Ech-Chaabi (Tue)
3. Madani (USA)
+84 KG : BABACAR SECK CROWNED !
At 24, Babacar Seck won his 2nd international gold medal. After the K1 Matosinhos in April, the Spaniard imposed himself with a hard fight. 1st in his pool, he dominated the Egyptian Mahmoud in the ½ final (1-1) before beating Andjelo Kvesic in the final (1-0). The latter had dominated the Ukrainian Talibov in the other ½ final (7-2).
Babacar Seck : « This triumph is very important for me, especially considering the circumstances that I come from. My family is all in Senegal and they still don’t know that I won this gold. I can’t wait to tell them ». (Source WKF)
Final
Seck (Esp) b. A. Kvesic (Cro), 1-0
Bronze
Mahmoud (Egy) b. Talibov (Ukr), 2-0
Podium
1. Seck (Esp)
2. A. Kvesic (Cro)
3. Mahmoud (Egy)
-61 KG : SEROGINA FINALLY !
Often placed, Anita Serogina has rarely had the honors of the highest step of the podium. European champion in 2013, the world n°1 won all her fights.
In the rematch of the 2017 final, the Ukrainian got the better of Alexandra Grande after a fierce and close fight. Led for almost the all fight, she was able to score the decisive point at the last second (3-2).
Note that qualification for the ½ finals in Pool B was decided on a goal-average basis. Suchankova, Grande and Jumaa were tied on points (2v, 1d).
In the other group, the Egyptian Ali finished in the lead but came up against Grande in the ½ final (3-3).
Anita Serogina : « This is my first gold medal at The World Games, I always got silver. The last time, I lost the final against Alexandra Grande so this time it was like revenge for me. She is a very hard rival, probably my strongest opponent. So, I am happy that I won, especially considering that I did it in the last second. It is a big win for my country. Also, I lost my grandmother a few days ago so I want to dedicate this victory to her ». (Source WKF)
Final
Serogina (Ukr) b. Large (Per), 3-2
Bronze
Suchankova (Svk) b. Ali (Egy), 3-1
Podium
1. Serogina (Ukr)
2. Great (Per)
3. Suchankova (Svk)
-68 KG : SEMERARO, PREMIERE !
Silvia Semeraro finally holds her first title. The Italian took her revenge of the Worlds final by dominating the Azerbaijani Iryna Zaretska (3-1). The latter has been injured for several weeks and was not at 100% of her capacities. In the final, Semeraro muzzled Buchinger (4-1).
For the bronze medal, French Alizee Agier b eat for the 2nd time of the day the double world champion Zaretska (8-4).
Final
Semeraro (Ita) b. Buchinger (Aut), 4-1
Bronze
Agier (Fra) b. Zaretska (Aze), 8-4
Podium
1. Semeraro (Ita)
2. Buchinger (Aut)
3. Agier (Fra)
+68 KG: BERULTSEVA UNTOUCHABLE
Their 7-1 win in the final against world champion Maria Torres sums up her competition well, even if they had finished with a 7-7 in pool. The Kazakh Sofya Berultseva was above the lot.
The 2 champions dominated the 2 surprises of the category in the ½ finals. Maria Torres beat Finland’s Titta Keinanen (2-0), who finished 1st of her pool. Berultseva beat the Tunisian Jemi (3-1).
The Greek Eleni Chatziliadou could not qualify (3rd in her pool).
Final
Berultseva (Kaz) b. Torres Garcia (Spain), 7-1
Bronze
Jemi (Tun) b. Keinanen (Fin), 1-0
Podium
1. Berultseva (Kaz)
2. Torres Garcia (Spain)
3. Jemi (Tun)
