28 March 2024

Thursday, 23:52

STEP FORWARD

Azerbaijani karatekas prepare for the Tokyo Olympics after a successful performance in Croatia

Author:

01.06.2021

The 56th European Karate Championship and the next championship of the continent in para-karate ended in Porec, Croatia. The Azerbaijani national team also took part in the competition. The continental championship, which is considered one of the most important tournaments before the Tokyo Olympics, was remembered by seven medals of our athletes. Since the prestigious event was attended by 513 karatekas from 47 countries, the result of the national team can be considered positive.

 

Results despite difficulties

The national team of Azerbaijan won 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medals, while the para-karate team of the country won 1 gold and 2 bronze medals. Among the karatekas, there was no equal to Irina Zaretskaya (68 kg). Our athlete was in excellent shape, hence she performed confidently, eventually winning a gold medal. The living legend of karate Rafael Aghayev also started well at the continental championship. Having made it to the semifinals after several consecutive victories, our world and European champion proved to be on top as well. His triumphant march was interrupted only in the final stage of the tournament. Having lost only in the final battle, the 11-time European champion won a silver medal this time. In fact, Aghayev’s medal can be regarded as a success. Our renowned athlete have not been able to train properly for a long time due to quarantine, and lost his mother just before the championship. That is why Rafael Aghayev faced difficulties in training on the very eve of the continental championship. His medal in the competition in Croatia will be a great incentive for him to return to the tatami.

It should be noted that, like two years ago at the European Games, the 36-year-old athlete was again opposed in the final by Stanislav Goruna. This time the Ukrainian athlete was more successful. However, despite the defeat, experts note the high level demonstrated by Rafael Aghayev in the final battle.

Another silver medal of the national team was won by Panah Abdullayev (84 kg). The Azerbaijani kumite team won bronze medals in the championship. In the competition among para-karate fighters, Emilia Mitilinova took first place, while Sahib Ahadov and Eldar Ahmedov both shared the third places. In total, 49 athletes from 15 countries took part in the para-karate competitions.

President of the Azerbaijan Karate Federation and member of the Executive Committee of the European Karate Federation (EKF) Yashar Bashirov took part in the awards ceremony at the continental championship. Jahangir Babayev, the future referee of the Tokyo Olympics, a member of the EKF Referees Committee, was among the referees of the final bouts.

 

Waiting for a tense fight

After the end of the European Championship, the World Karate Federation (WKF) announced the names of 40 athletes who successfully passed the qualifying stage of the Tokyo Olympics. Among them are Azerbaijani karate fighters Rafael Aghayev (-75 kg) and Irina Zaretskaya (+61 kg). Among the well-known rivals of Aghayev in this list are Stanislav Goruna (Ukraine), Luigi Busa (Italy), Bahman Askeri (Iran) and Ken Nishimura (Japan). The rivals of Zaretskaya will be Hamida Abbasali (Iran), Gong Li (China), Meltem Hocaoglu (Turkey) and Ayumi Uekusa (Japan). The list includes the names of the best karate fighters, which means that at the Olympics we will see a tense competition.

Along with athletes, Azerbaijan will be represented at the Olympics by a team of refeers. Thus, Jahangir Babayev, a member of the Referees Commission of the European Karate Federation, is also included in the number of 15 referees to judge karate competitions.

Since June, Azerbaijani karatekas have begun intensive preparations for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The approximate program of the national team's trip to the Olympics has also been approved. Athletes will travel to Japan one week before the start of the competition. According to the established rules due to the pandemic, upon completion of the Games, athletes must leave Japan within 48 hours.

32 licences to the Tokyo Olympics were designated for the first four places of the rating table in eight categories, and 8 places were given to the athletes of the host country. In total, 80 karatekas will compete in Tokyo (60 in kumite, and 20 in kata competitions).

Another 24 athletes will compete for licences to the Olympic Games at a special licensed tournament in Paris on June 11-13. 12 additional Olympic licenses will be awarded respectively to continental representations. The remaining four Olympic licences will be awarded based on the invitations of the Trilateral Commission (wild card). The karate competitions at the Tokyo Olympic Games will be held on August 5-7 at the Nippon Budokan Arena.


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