Karate One-Premier League 2026
Asgari settles for bronze as Iranians disappoint in Istanbul
Bahman Asgari was the sole Iranian karateka to claim a medal at the latest Karate One-Premier League event, as the country endured a below-par campaign in Istanbul, Turkey.
The former world champion recovered from a semifinal setback against home favorite Omer Faruk Yurur to beat Ukraine’s Heorhii Pitsul 6-0 in the men’s kumite -75kg third-place bout, securing a joint-bronze alongside Japan’s Yusei Sakiyama.
In the men’s -60kg class, Abolfazl Hamdamjou suffered defeats against Chile’s Ruiz Enrique Villalon (2-0) and Italy’s Angelo Crescenzo (6-1), sandwiching an 8-2 victory over Kuwait’s Abdalhadi Alajmi. Finishing as runner-up in Pool 3, he missed out on a place in the knockout phase.
Reigning world bronze medalist Saleh Abazari also failed to progress in the men’s +84kg event. Abazari defeated Dutch karateka Issam Najdi (3-1) and Japan’s Yuta Mori (4-3) but lost 5-4 to Kazakhstan’s Dias Anarbekov in the pool phase.
Mahmoud Nemati was the other Iranian in the +84kg category, exiting in the pools after a 3-0 setback against neutral athlete Ivan Kudzinau of Belarus.
Nemati opened his campaign with a 1-0 win over Russian Kirill Kovalev – also competing under the WKF flag – and later defeated Poland’s Pawel Kiryluk on criteria (1-1), ultimately finishing second in Pool 7.
In the women’s individual kata, Iranian Fatemeh Sadeghi defeated Portugal’s Rita Marques (6-1) and Egypt’s Jana Raafat (7-0) before a 5-2 loss to Italy’s Carola Casale ended her hopes of a quarterfinal spot.