Host country Japan won the championship title by bagging 10 gold, two silver and two bronze medals, followed by Iran in the runner-up place with two gold, four silver and five bronze medals. France finished third with one gold, two silver and five bronze medals.
The team kumite was the last bout of the tournament which concluded with Iran conceding defeat 3-1 at the final fixture and collecting the silver medal. Iran’s team comprised Salehi Abazari, Mehdi Khodabakhsh, Younes Norouzi, Mehdi Ghararizadeh, Mehdi Rahiminejad, Milad Bahmani and Mehdi Ghaheri. The team faced opponents from France, Malaysia and Poland in three consecutive matches and beat them 3-0.
The Iranian team kumite and Saleh Abazari won two gold medals each, while Avishan Bagheri, Melika Ahadi and Abolfazl Shahrjerdi each grabbed a silver medal. Faezeh Chizari, Behnoush Njafi, Ali Meskini and Mehdi Rahiminejad, as well as Iran’s kata team won five bronze medals.
329 karate practitioners from 33 countries took part in the 11th FISU World University Karate Championship in Kobe, Japan. The international tournament kicked off on July 18 and wrapped up today on July 22.
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