Young Karate stars lit up the Porec in Croatia

The Junior Karate League has reached its equator. The third stage took place in Porec, where the European Championships took place a few years ago. More than 2,900 participants from 69 countries gathered in Croatia. Among them were athletes using Budo-Nord equipment.

The Youth league is becoming increasingly popular. And the competitions in Croatia also confirmed this; it became a showcase of young karatekas who will become bright stars in the foreseeable future. Some of them are just starting their journey in big-time sports, but this is what makes the competition unique, taking place in a variety of age categories – both among children no older than 14 years old, and already accomplished karatekas under 21 years old. In this sense, the tatamies in Porec provided the participants with an excellent opportunity to express themselves.

Among the athletes using Budo-Nord equipment, Darina Lazarieva (-54 kg) distinguished herself in the competition among cadets. It is interesting to note that three Ukrainian karatekas, including Lazarieva, reached the quarterfinals of this category. However, she lost to Jessica Gasparova from Slovakia in the top eight. But since her opponent reached the final, Darina had a chance for bronze. And in the small final she was able to defeat Sara Ikanovic from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The score 8:1 speaks for itself. As a result, Lazarieva completed the youth league, winning bronze.

Another Ukrainian Manzhula Matvii distinguished himself among the cadets. In the weight category up to 57 kg he was able to reach the decisive fights. In the quarterfinals, he was stronger than Kuchel Lennox from Germany, and in the semifinals he lost to the representative of the Czech Republic, Simota David. It is interesting that in the fight for bronze, Manzhula met with its partner in the Ukrainian national team, Patlai Maksym, and complemented this with a confident victory (8:0), which brought him a medal.
In junior competitions, Buhaiov Maksym (up to 84 kg) won a silver medal. He reached the decisive stage of the Youth League, defeating Omar Osman from Egypt in the quarterfinals. In the duel with the Egyptian the score did not open, but Hantei ended up in favor of the Ukrainian. In the semi-finals everything was also decided by the judges’ decisions. The fight with Bosnian Halilovic Salih ended in a draw on points (2:2), however, Buhaiov won the match. But in the final he lost to Montenegrin karateka Mikulic Nemanja, finishing the tournament with silver.

In the age category up to 14 years old, Diubenok Artem stopped not far from the podium. Competing in the up to 40 kg weight category, the young Ukrainian athlete took seventh place.
The results of the stage in Poretz turned out to be very interesting. The tone was set only by the leading countries of the karate world, such as Egypt, France, Italy, Ukraine, but also others. For example, the teams from Scotland and Romania won gold.

The competition once again showed that the Youth League is a great find for the World Karate Federation. Each scene gives new young stars, this is its main charm.The next fourth stage of the youth league will take place on August 8-11 in the famous Mexican resort city of Cancun.