Iran dominate Karate Championship, Kuwait 2nd
The Second Asian Kyokushin Karate Championship (IKO) concluded over the weekend at the Kuwait Sports Club’s hall with a huge success, given that the championship was held in an Arab country for the first time.
The championship, which was held under the patronage of the Public Authority for Sports (PAS), was organized by Kyokushin Karate Committee that is affiliated to the Olympic Committee.
Iran dominated the tournament as they won majority of the first places, followed by Kuwait, Mongolia and Bahrain
In the under 70 kilograms category, Iran’s Omidnavar won first place, followed by his compatriot Bahzad Ojani, and in third place was Kuwait’s Ahmad Heydar.
In the under 80 kilograms category, Iran’s Ayoub Akbari won the title, followed in second place by his compatriot Hadi Mohammadi, and the third place went to Kuwait’s Muhammad Heydar.
In the under 90 kilograms category, Mongolia’s Tanjiri Mindibayar came first, followed in second place by Mustafa Marhoun from Bahrain, and in third place was Muhammad Afdhali.
Meanwhile, Chairperson of the higher organizing committee for the Asian Kyokushin Karate Championship Khaled Abdullatif Al-Manei applauded the success of the competition and the spirit of sportsmanship that was evident throughout the event.
Al-Manei extended his hand of appreciation and gratitude to everyone who contributed to this sports festival which took place for the first time in an Arab country. He also expressed special thanks to the main sponsor of the championship, Director General of PAS Dr Hamoud Al-Fuleiteh.
He affirmed that the championship achieved its objective — to widen the experience of players and win several medals which qualified them to participate in the world championship in Tokyo, Japan in November.
He pointed out that the next objective is to focus on amateur players in order to have a base of players in various age groups, adding this cannot be achieved without the support of the State considering the growing interest of youths in the sports.
He also thanked Deputy Chairperson of Kuwait Sports Club Khaled Al-Ghanim for arranging the venue and allowing the participating teams to use its facilities.
He thanked Director of Sports for All in (PAS) Hamid Al-Hazeem and Khalifa Al-Trarawa for attending the matches, and the efforts exerted by Secretary of Kuwait Karate Federation Emad Bahbahani.
The participating teams included the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Kingdom of Bahrain, India, the United Arab Emirates, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran and the host nation — the State of Kuwait.