The Olympic champion and 2-time world champion did not miss his comeback. Steven Da Costa qualified for the -67 kg final of Karate1 Baku, his 3rd in 4 tournaments. The French will fight the Greek Xenos, his winner at the last Europeans.
Great finals await us on Sunday : Salazar vs Bahmanyar, Terliuga vs Ahlam, Asgari vs Azhikanov… Summary of the 1st day of K1 in Baku.
By Ludovic Mauchien / Photo: Karatepix
-60kg
New blood has sprung up in this category which is struggling to find a boss. This time, it is the Egyptian Aboeita and the Azerbaijani Guliyev who will meet in the final. For his comeback to competition since the Worlds, the Iranian 2-time world champion, Mehdizadeh, could not get off the 1st round. As for the Turkish Olympic vice-champion, Eray Samdan, who was trapped in ¼ by Guliyev (4-3).
Final : Aboeita (Egy) vs Guliyev (Aze)
½ finals : Aboeita b. Alpysbay (Kaz) / Guliyev b. Xenos (Gre), 0-0
-67kg
We announced it yesterday. The revenge/remake of the last European Championships will take place. Steven Da Costa and Dionysios Xenos will meet in the final. In Gaziantep, the Greek won 1-0.
The Frenchman dominated all his dangerous opponents, such as Almasatfa (3-2) or Nakano in the ½ final (5-0). If the Japanese had caused him problems at the Worlds, it seems that Steven has taken his measure !
Final : S. Da Costa (Fra) vs. D. Xenos (Gre)
½ finals : S. Da Costa b. Nakano (Jpn), 5-0 / Xenos b. Admiral (Kaz), 3-2
-75kg
We had not seen him in competition for over a year, suspended for the Olympics and the Worlds. The 2019 world champion, Bahman Asgari, has lost none of his brilliance and qualifies for a new final. He will be opposed to the Kazakh Azhikanov, author of a very good performance in the ½ final with his win over the Egyptian Abelaziz (5-3). Note that Horuna was not in Baku.
Final: Asgari (Irn) vs Azhikanov (Kaz)
½ finals: Asgari b. Duarte (Por), 4-2 / Azhikanov b. Abelaziz (Egy), 5-3
Kata F
Sandra Sanchez Jaime finally absent, it was not Kiyou Shimizu who sneaked in. The Olympic vice-champion fell in the ½ final against Hikaru Ono, who also beat Kokumai in the ¼ final.
The Japanese will meet Hong Kong’s Grace Lau in the final. The latter dominated Dilara Bozan in ¼.
Final: Grace Lau (HK) vs. H. Ono (Jpn)
½ finals: H. Ono b. K. Shimizu (Jpn), 27 vs 26.8 / Grace Lau b. N. Shimizu (Jpn), 26 vs 24.88
-50 kg
It looks like a handover. The young Venezuelan Salazar, Pan-American champion, is asserting herself over the competitions and, this time, beat Plank in the ¼ finals (4-3).
For her part, the young Iranian Bahmanyar dominated Serap Ozcelik in the ½ final (2-1). A final that we would not miss for anything in the world.
Final: Salazar (Fri) vs Bahmanyar (Irn)
½ finals: Salazar b. Bugur (G), 9-0 / Bahmanyar b. Ozcelik (Tur), 2-1
-55kg
Of course ! Anzhelica Terliuga is in the final, her 5th in a row. The European champion will be opposed to the world champion, the Egyptian Ahlam. Another final which gets promises.
Final: Terliuga (Ukr) vs Ahlam (Egy)
½ finals: Terliuga b. Yakan (Tur), 7-4 / Ahlam b. Nakamura (Jpn), 1-1
THE PROGRAM
Saturday 3
Eliminations (round robin), ¼ and ½ finals: Kata M, -84 kg, +84 kg, -61 kg, -68 kg, +68 kg
Sunday 4
Matches for bronze (10 a.m.-2:10 p.m.) and finals (3:35 p.m.-6 p.m.)
How to follow the 2nd day
On Karate-K.com of course with a daily summary of the competition
On the WKF YouTube channel
