14 medals including 10 golds ! Japan brilliantly completed the World university championships that took place in Kobe from July 19th to 22nd. Iran finishes 2nd nation with 11 medals including 1 gold, France ranks 3rd nation with 8 medals.

By Florian Fournier
Photos : K-Photos

 

Already in a very good shape before the day of the finals, the Japanese karatekas left no chance to their opponents on Sunday. Technicians and fighters recited their score to win ten World titles in Kobe.

In addition to the renowned karatekas Miyohara (-50 kg), Natsuki Shimizu and Horiba Yuhei in Kata, four others have won a title. Haname Katayama in -55 kg, Yuki Kujuro in -61 kg and Kanako Oryu in -68 kg and Yusei Sakiyama in -75 kg. To these individual titles, we must add three team ones, two in Kata and one in Kumite for men, to obtain the ten Japanese gold medals.

Iran, thanks to Saleh Abazari in +84 kg, wins a World university title that allows it to get the nations’ 2nd place with a total of ten medals.

Third, France won the world title in Women's Kumite team and seven medals in individual. Last highlight of this competition, the victory of Samdan Eray, the Turkish prodigy of the -60 kg division.

Podiums :

Male :

-60kg :

  1. Samdan Eray (Tur)
  2. Albasher Saud (Ksa)
  3. Kanagasingam Kajith (Fra) and Meskini Ali (Ira)

-67kg :

  1. Donofrio Francesco (Ita)
  2. Nakano Soichiro (Jap)
  3. Cuerva Mora Raul (Spa) and Rahimi Mehdi (Ira)

-75kg:

  1. Yusei Sakiyama (Jap)
  2. Lou Lebrun (Fra)
  3. Ammed El Sharaby (Ita) and Luca Rettenbacher (Aut)

-84kg :

  1. Kamran Madani (USA)
  2. Durham Mitchell (Aus)
  3. Alvin Karaqi (Kos) and Alnashri Faraj (Ksa)

+84kg :

  1. Abazari Saleh (Ira)
  2. Daiki Ando (Jap)
  3. Dnylson Jacquet (Fra) and Somanroy Marulveeran (Mas)

Team kumite :

  1. Japan
  2. Iran
  3. Saudi Arabia and France

Kata :

  1. Horiba Yuhei (Jap)
  2. Shahrjerdi Abolfazi (Ira)
  3. Goktas Emre (Tur) and Busatto Matia (Ita)

Team kata :

  1. Japan
  2. Austria
  3. Poland and Iran

Female :

-50kg :

  1. Miyahara Miho (Jap)
  2. Gu Shiau-Shuang (Tpe)
  3. Morales Gema (Spa) and Chizari Faezeh (Ira)

-55kg :

  1. Katayama Haname (Jap)
  2. Bagheri Avishan (Ira)
  3. Warling Jennifer (Lux) and Sara Heurtault (Fra)

-61kg :

  1. Yoki Kujuro (Jap)
  2. Melika Ahadi (Ira)
  3. Coral Herrador (Spa) and Wei-Ning Hsu (Tpe)

-68kg :

  1. Kanako Oryu (Jap)
  2. Laura Sivert (Fra)
  3. Isabel Nieto (Spa) and Behnoosh Najafi (Ira)

+68kg :

  1. Rosa Marie Liebold (Ger)
  2. Tzu-Hsuan Wen (Tpe)
  3. Ayaka Saito (Jap) and Lora Ziller (Aut)

Team Kumite :

  1. France
  2. Spain
  3. Austria and Japan

Kata :

  1. Shimizu Natsuki (Jap)
  2. Donofrio Terryana (Ita)
  3. Feracci Laeticia (Fra) and Garcia Lozano Marta (Spa)

Equipe Kata :

  1. Japan
  2. Spain
  3. Czech Republic and China

Nations’ ranking :

  1. Japan (10 gold ; 2 silver ; 2 bronze)
  2. Iran (1 gold  ; 4 silver ; 5 bronze)
  3. France (1 gold  ; 2 silver ; 5 bronze)
  4. Italie (1 gold  ; 1 silver ; 2 bronze)
  5. Turquie (1 gold  ; 0 silver ; 1 bronze)