Asian Karate Championships:
Double kata bronzes for Iran as Khodabakhshi, Abazari head into finals
The second day of the Asian Karate Championships in Hangzhou, China, saw Iranian men and women bag a couple of team kata bronze medals, while Mahdi Khodabakhshi and Saleh Abazari headed into the final showpiece of their respective weight classes.
Sepideh Amini, Melika Ezzati, and Zeinab Hosseini bounced back from a last-four loss (40.4-39) to Japan to come out on top against the Philippines (38.5-37.1) and share the third podium of the women’s team kata contests with China.
In the men’s draw, Ali Zand, Abolfazl Shahrjerdi, and Milad Farazmehr defeated Cambodia and Iraq but were beaten by just a 0.3-point margin against Kuwait – silver medalist in the previous edition – in the semifinals, before a 37.9-34.7 victory over Saudi Arabia clinched a third successive Asian bronze for the Irania trio, which now has five AKF Senior Championships medals – including a 2021 silver – under its belt.
Meanwhile, Khodabakhshi – a back-to-back Asian team kumite champion with Iran – remained on course for a first individual glory in the competitions thanks to a 6-4 victory over two-time defending champion Mohammad al-Jafari of Jordan in a thrilling men’s -84kg semifinal.
Awaiting Khodabakhshi in today’s showdown will be Japan’s Rikito Shimada, who was beaten by the Jordanian in last year’s final.
Today’s second Iranian-Japanese kumite final will feature Abazari and Kyo Hirata – Asian champion in 2022 – in the men’s +84kg event.
Chasing a second individual gold in Hangzhou, Abazari came out victorious against Muhammad Awais of Pakistan and Uzbekistan’s Islombek Ismatullayev and then beat Thailand’s Teerawat Kangtong 10-7 for a place in the final.
Iranians will be seeking further kumite medals today as six karatekas will be in action in the third-place bouts of their respective events.
Taravat Khaksar (-55kg), Atousa Golshadnejad (-61kg) – a gold medalist last year – Mobina Heidari (-68kg), and Shima Al-e Sa’di (+68kg) will be looking for a consolation bronze in the women’s competitions, with Behnam Dehghanzadeh – also a 2023 Asian champion – and former world champion Bahman Askari heading into the third-spot deciders in the men’s -55kg and -75kg events respectively.
Para karate glory
A total of five medals, including three golds, saw Iran claim the title in the 3rd Asian Para Karate Championships in Hangzhou.
Negar Vasheghani defeated an opponent from Hong Kong for the gold medal in the women’s K22 class, with Hafez Hafezikia (K21) and Farzad Safari winning the ultimate prize in the men’s competitions.
A second women’s medal for Iran came courtesy of Ma’soumeh Iji’s silver in the K21 contests, with Rahim Golmohammadi grabbing the bronze in the blind participants’ K10 class.