Karate 1 Youth League in Venice, Italy

Karate 1 Youth League in Venice, Italy offered five days of amazing battles on the tatamis. The audience that attended will probably remember the competition for a long time.

Day 1 – Under 21 Kumite Finals

In the female finals Hsin-Yu Chan of Chinese Taipei became the champion in -50 kg after a 1-0 victory over Ema Sgardelli from Croatia. It was a tense competition and Chan managed to come out on top. Sydney Yvon from France defeated Slovakia’s Anna Vaczy with 2-0 in -61 kg. Yvon controlled the fight and won the gold medal. Ukraine dominated in 68+ kg on the first day. Yuliia Rusu and Yuliia Krot, both from Ukraine met up in the final. Yuliia Rusu overcame her compatriot in an even matchup. She won 3-1 and Ukraine showed how skilled they are. In -55 kg Rebecca Ortu from Italy defeated  Ksenyia Dronchanka from Poland. Germany’s Hannah Riedel showcased a great performance against Ema Tinavska from Czech Republic in -68 kg.

In the male finals Armenia’s Suren Harutyunyan defeated Italy’s Samuele Rufini with 2-1 in -67 kg. The fight was close and exciting. Harutyunyan was the better fighter that day. Amin Abdelmalki took the second gold medal for Belgium on day one. He defeated Romania’s Erhan Tornaci with 2-1 in -60 kg. Abdelmalki’s precision gave him the win. Ukraine continued to win on day one. Heorhii Pitsul took a dominant 7-2 victory against Van Sebastiaan Teeffelen from the Netherlands in -75 kg. Pitsul’s performance was one of the most impressive on day one. 

Day 2 – Junior Kumite Finals

In the female finals Agnes Nyman from Sweden was victorious against Veronika Hudym from Ukraine in -48 kg. Sofiia Liaskalo who competed as a Neutral Athlete defeated Alona Mudzhuk in -59 kg. Robin Zwanenburg from the Netherlands won the gold medal against Sara Tomic from Croatia in 66+ kg. Veronika Gashnikova who competed under the Individual Neutral Athletes banner took the gold medal against Ukraine’s Mariia Hnes 4-3 in the -53kg category. France’s Chloe Payrot was victorious against Sarina Nouri from Iran in the -66 kg final.

In the male finals the Italian Gabriele Pezzotti won the -84 kg fight against Simon Seckar from Slovakia. Stefan Stojanovikj from North Macedonia defeated Ukraine’s Oleksandr Kozyliak in the 84+ kg final.

Day 3 – Cadet Kata and Junior Kumite Finals

In the Cadet Kata Male final Kanta Fukui from Japan won the gold medal after defeating the Portuguese Vasco Mateus. In the female final Japan’s Ria Hori defeated Tamara Lehner from Austria.

Antonio Celentano took the gold medal in the -55 kg Junior Kumite final against Arsenii Rudenko of Ukraine. Belgium’s Matt Rombeaux defeated Roland Toth Mate from Hungary in -61 kg. Hungary’s Zoltan Toth Zsombor beat Benjamin Packwood from Scotland in the -68 kg final. The Croatian Sven Strahija dominated the -76 kg final against Pascal Platisa of Austria. In the 76+ kg final Lukas Bohunicky of Slovakia took the gold against Michail Mokas from Greece.

Day 4 – Cadet Kumite Finals

The Ukrainian Savelii Ilchuk dominated the -52 kg final against his compatriot Maksym Viechkanov. Denis Dobrovolschi from Moldova emerged victorious against Italy’s Gleb Solomon in -63 kg. Italy’s Francesco Ferrarini was dominant in the 70+ kg final against Artem Parkhomenko from Germany. The German Svend Koenig Liv came out on top in the -61 kg final against her compatriot Melina Mattys. Mahé Deberdt from France defeated Ukraine’s Vasyl Kucherenko in the nail-biting -57 kg final. One of the most exciting fights of the day was when Ukraine’s Kostiantyn Kozak won the -70 kg final against Luis Ruz from Venezuela. Portugal’s Leonor Goncalves triumphed over Morgane Scarfone from France in the tight -54 kg final. The Greek fighter Effrosyni-Davidoula Douka defeated Miley Schindler from Germany in the 61+ kg category.

Final day – Under 14 Kumite Finals

In the female category the American Mihaela Arcalean defeated Vanessa Stefanski from Finland in the -52 kg final. Italy’s Gavioli Melissa won the gold medal against another Italian Carola Caridei in the +52 kg final.

In the mens final Antoni Zaleski of Poland was declared the winner against Azerbaijan’s Elmaddin Salimli in -45 kg. In the -55 kg final the Italian Achille Giuliani overcame his countryman Diego Nasser. Germany’s Bijan Azadi beat Daniiel Lypivskyi from Ukraine in the +55 kg final. Kosovo’s Mevlan Dalipi took the gold medal against Georgia’s Ilia Gabrava from Georgia in the -40 kg final. Maksym Tarnavskyi of Ukraine defeated Lorenzo Pontil Scala from Italy in the -50 kg final.

Photographer Nathan Blockley (@kaizenculture)

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