phelps

K1PL Stage #3 (Rabat, MAR) Gold Medal matches Results women's Individual Kata Gold Medal match: Kyou Shimizu b. Sandra Sanchez Jaime women's Individual Kumite, -50kg Gold Medal match: Serap Ozcelik Arapoglu b. Radwa Sayed women's Individual Kumite, -55kg Gold Medal match: Anzhelika Terliuga b. Wen Tzu-Yun women's Individual Kumite, -61kg Gold Medal match: Yin Xiaoyan b. Giana Lofty women's Individual Kumite, -68kg Gold Medal match: Elena Quirici b. Halyna Melnyk women's Individual Kumite, +68kg Gold Medal match: Meltem Hocaoglu b. Guadalupe Quintal Catzin men's Individual Kata Gold Medal match: Ryo Kiyuna b. Damian Hugo Quintero Capdevila men's Individual Kumite, -60kg Gold Medal match: Darkhan Assadilov b. Eray Samdan men's Individual Kumite, -67kg Gold Medal match: Alì Elsawy b. Burak Uygur men's Individual Kumite, -75kg Gold Medal match: Stanislav Horuna b. Alì Asiabari men's Individual Kumite, -84kg Gold Medal match: Valerii Chobotar b. Ryutaro Araga men's Individual Kumite, +84kg Gold Medal match: Sajad Ganjzadeh b. Alparslan Yamanoglu women's Team Kata Gold Medal match: Italy b. Russia men's Team Kata Gold Medal match: Turkey b. Russia

K1PL Stage #3 (Rabat, MAR) Bronze Medal matches Results women's Individual Kata Bronze Medal match #1: Dilara Eltemur b. Grace Lau Mo Sheung Bronze Medal match #2: Hikaru Ono b. Viviana Bottaro women's Individual Kumite, -50kg Bronze Medal match #1: Junna Tsukii b. Mariya Koulinkovitch Bronze Medal match #2: Bettina Plank b. Ku Tsui-Ping women's Individual Kumite, -55kg Bronze Medal match #1: Tuba Yakan b. Istri Agung Sanistyarani Cok Bronze Medal match #2: Travat Khaksar b. Sara Yamada women's Individual Kumite, -61kg Bronze Medal match #1: Mayumi Someya b. Laura Sivert Bronze Medal match #2: Gwendoline Philippe b. Leila Heurtault women's Individual Kumite, -68kg Bronze Medal match #1: Kayo Someya b. Melissa Bratic Bronze Medal match #2: Vasiliki Panetsidou b. Johanna Kneer women's Individual Kumite, +68kg Bronze Medal match #1: Hamideh Abbasli b. Ayaka Saito Bronze Medal match #2: Maria Torres Garcia b. Imene Atif men's Individual Kata Bronze Medal match #1: Enes Ozdemir b. Issei Shimbaba Bronze Medal match #2: Kazumasa Moto b. Mattia Busato men's Individual Kumite, -60kg Bronze Medal match #1: Sadriddin Saymatov b. Yunosuke Minami Bronze Medal match #2: Angelo Crescenzo b. Naoto Sago men's Individual Kumite, -67kg Bronze Medal match #1: Hesham Abdelgawad Abdalla b. Hiroto Shinoara Bronze Medal match #2: Masamichi Funahashi b. Soichiro Nakano men's Individual Kumite, -75kg Bronze Medal match #1: Rafael Aghayev b. Logan Dacosta Bronze Medal match #2: Ken Nishimura b. Ryota Nakamura men's Individual Kumite, -84kg Bronze Medal match #1: Igor Chikhmarev b. Berat Jakupi Bronze Medal match #2: Ugur Aktas b. Zabiollah Poorshab men's Individual Kumite, +84kg Bronze Medal match #1: Saleh Abazari b. Tarek Mahmoud Taha Bronze Medal match #2: Jonathan Horne b. Filipe Reis women's Team Kata Bronze Medal #1: Morocco Bronze Medal match #2: Russia (2) b. Slovakia men's Team Kata Bronze Medal match #1: Morocco b. Algeria Bronze Medal match #2: Morocco (2) b. Algeria (2)

and Nashville's also with their shoulders to the wall...if they go out, a lot of interesting options for many teams (especially SWE and SUI...Forsberg, Arvidsson, Ekholm and Josi, just to name the top 4, but they're not the only stars of that team, we all know) will be on the table for the world champs... however, this year's NHL playoffs are really the craziest I've seen in quite a few years (p.s. I'm reading too many comparisons between Columbus and the 2012 LA Kings...be serious, people! )...

elsewhere around Europe, yesterday (and before)... Czech Extraliga, Finals: Bìlì Tygřy Liberec and HC Ocelàři Třinec shared the first 2 games played on Liberec's ice...Třinec won the series opener by a score of 2-1, then the hosts did answer in game #2, winning 3-1... therefore, the series is now tied 1-1... game #3 is scheduled for Tomorrow, April 22nd in Třinec @ 5 p.m. CET Finnish Liiga, Finals: Kärpät Oulu took advantage of the home ice and won the series opener against HPK Hämeenlinna by a score of 4-1, so they obviously also lead the series 1-0... game #2 is scheduled for next Tuesday, April 23rd in Hämeenlinna @ 6.30 p.m. local time, 5.30 p.m. CET Austrian EBEL, Finals: the home ice factor is still dominating the series, so yesterday it was KAC Klagenfurt's turn to succeed...and they didn't miss the chance, edging out their rivals, Vienna Capitals, in game #4 by a score of 3-2... the series is now tied 2-2... game #5 is scheduled for Tomorrow, April 22nd in Wien @ 5 p.m. CET German DEL, Finals: in this case, it's always the road team to party...game #2 was won by Adler Mannheim on the ice of Red Bull Munich by a score of 3-0... therefore, the series is now tied 1-1... game #3 is scheduled for Tomorrow, April 22nd in Mannheim @ 2 p.m. CET

Swiss NLA SC Bern are back on the throne! they won also game #5 of the final series against EV Zug by a score of 2-1, thus winning the entire series by a score of 4-1... It's the 16th title for them (Swiss record)... Finals Recap SC Bern b. EV Zug 4-1 (1-4; 3-2OT; 4-1; 3-1; 2-1) game #5 scoresheet and highlights*, here: https://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20191105000377 * not sure the highlights work properly...

Today's Medallists (Day #1) women's -48kg Gold: Li Yanan Silver: Otgontsetseg Galbadrakh Bronze: Lee Hye Kyeong & Aya Sakagami women's -52kg Gold: Diyora Keldiyorova Silver: Sosorbaram Lkhagvasuren Bronze: Rim Song Sim & Rina Tatsukawa women's -57kg Gold: Kim Jin A Silver: Kana Tomizawa Bronze: Enkhriilen Lkhagvatogoo & Sevara Nishanbayeva men's -60kg Gold: Genki Koga Silver: Yang Yun-Wei Bronze: Ariunbold Enkhtaivan & Gusman Kyrgyzbayev men's -66kg Gold: Yerlan Serikzhanov Silver: Yeldos Zhumakanov Bronze: Artur Te & Baskhuu Yondonperenlei

K1PL Stage #3 (Rabat, MAR) women's Individual Kumite, -61kg Gold Medal match: Giana Lofty vs Yin Xiaoyan Bronze Medal match #1: Laura Sivert vs Mayumi Someya Bronze Medal match #2: Gwendoline Philippe vs Leila Heurtault women's Individual Kumite, -68kg Gold Medal match: Elena Quirici vs Halyna Melnyk Bronze Medal match #1: Kayo Someya vs Melissa Bratic Bronze Medal match #2: Johanna Kneer vs Vasiliki Panetsidou women's Individual Kumite, +68kg Gold Medal match: Guadalupe Quintal Catzin vs Meltem Hocaoglu Bronze Medal match #1: Ayaka Saito vs Hamideh Abbasli Bronze Medal match #2: Maria Torres Garcia vs Imene Atif men's Individual Kata Gold Medal match: Ryo Kiyuna vs Damian Hugo Quintero Capdevila Bronze Medal match #1: Issei Shimbaba vs Enes Ozdemir Bronze Medal match #2: Mattia Busato vs Kazumasa Moto men's Individual Kumite, -84kg Gold Medal match: Valerii Chobotar vs Ryutaro Araga Bronze Medal match #1: Igor Chikhmarev vs Berat Jakupi Bronze Medal match #2: Ugur Aktas vs Zabiollah Poorshab men's Individual Kumite, +84kg Gold Medal match: Sajad Ganjzadeh vs Alparslan Yamanoglu Bronze Medal match #1: Saleh Abazari vs Tarek Mahmoud Taha Bronze Medal match #2: Jonathan Horne vs Filipe Reis women's Team Kata (5 teams from 4 Countries at the start, which means that 1 of them has the Bronze Medal already in the bag before the competition started) Gold Medal match: Italy vs Russia Bronze Medal #1: Morocco Bronze Medal match #2: Russia (2) vs Slovakia

I don't think they have any problem with the internal competition (which basically doesn't exists, they are our no.1 crew, unless they have a full 15 months fail from now to Tokyo 2020 )... and the foil knowledge...well, obviously with time more and more crews will learn all of its secrets, but they won a world title also before ISAF established the new rules and equipment... I just think they're experiencing a "down" period...it happens... hopefully they'll be back in top shape when it really matters the most...

Hempel World Cup Series, Round #3 (Genua, ITA) Medallists Recap (Part #1) women's 49er FX Gold: Odile Van Aanholt & Marieke Jongens Silver: Carlotta Omari & Matilde Di Stefano Bronze: Stephanie Roble & Margaret Shea men's 49er Gold: David Gilmour & Lachy Gilmour Silver: Isaac McHardie & William McKenzie Bronze: Peter Burling & Blair Tuke mixed Nacra 17 Gold: Iker Martinez De Lizarduy & Olga Maslivets Silver: Ben Saxton & Nicola Boniface Bronze: Santiago Lange & Cecilia Carranza Saroli Full Results: https://www.manage2sail.com/en-US/event/3da4c9de-e26e-4671-bb00-885c79a4cd47#!/results?classId=681a89b8-b15a-4932-b826-14252e4928fb

European Recap from last couple of nights... Austrian EBEL, Finals, Game #3: Vienna Capitals b. KAC Klagenfurt 3-2...and now they lead the series 2-1...game #4 is scheduled for Today's afternoon @ 5 p.m. CET in Klagenfurt Swiss NLA, Finals, Game #4: SC Bern b. EV Zug 3-1 on the road and now lead the series 3-1...game #5 , the 1st possible Championship clincher, will be played in Bern later Tonight @ 8 p.m. CET game #4 scoresheet and highlights, here: https://www.sihf.ch/de/game-center/game/#/20191105000376 German DEL, Finals, Game #7: Red Bull Munich b. Adler Mannheim 2-1 after OT (Game winner in 79th minute) on the road and lead the series 1-0...game #2 is scheduled for Tonight in Munich at 7.45 p.m. CET Danish Metalligaen, Finals, game #4: Rungsted b. SønderjyskE 1-0 on the road and so they are the new Danish Champions after dominating the series 4-0 Finals Recap Rugsted Seier Capital b. SønderjyskE 4-0 (4-3OT; 3-2; 2-0; 1-0) Swedish SHL, Semifinals: just when they looked almost KO, Djurgårdens IF had an, amazing reaction, threw all of their hearts on the ice and won the decisive game #7 against Färjestad BK by a score of 4-1 on the road and therefore won also the entire series 4-3. Now they're going to face Frölunda HC in the Finals (best-of-7 series, home ice advantage for Frölunda). Game #1 is scheduled for Tomorrow, April 21st in Göteborg (Frölunda's home) @ 3 p.m. CET Semifinals Recap Djurgårdens IF b. Färjestad BK 4-3 (2-5; 5-3; 2-1; 3-1; 2-8; 1-6; 4-1) Frölunda HC b. Luleå HF 4-1 (4-3OT; 2-0; 1-3; 3-0; 6-2)

KHL, Gagarin Cup Finals there were very few people that thought Avangard could upset CSKA in this year's Gagarin Cup Finals... but even among the vast majority who were convinced that after all the title would get back to Moscow, not too many did think that it would have been so "easy" to win the Cup... in the end, it was a clean sweep, with Avangard who were left without a chance to even imagine a different ending of the season...not even in game #4, when they got a 2-goal lead in the 1st period, but once the big red machine started to play and did score their first goal in the 2nd period, it was all clear how it was going to end up also in this last match... The curse is lifted. CSKA Moscow became the first team in KHL history to top the table in the regular season and go on to win the Gagarin Cup. The Army Men collected their first ever Gagarin Cup and lifted Russia’s top hockey prize for the first time since the fall of the USSR. Along the way, Igor Nikitin’s team also recorded the first ever grand final sweep after clawing back a 0-2 deficit to win game four in overtime. For Avangard, this proved to be a series too far. After looking so impressive in moving through the Eastern Conference post season, Bob Hartley’s team hit a brick wall in the form of CSKA. Four goals in four games, three of them on the power play, told the tale. Ilya Sorokin was magnificent in goal for the champion, Avangard’s forwards could not find a way past the 23-year-old. But CSKA also had to show plenty of character, and none more so than in Friday’s decisive game. Down 0-2 at the first intermission, the team kept believing and forced overtime on a late Konstantin Okulov goal. In the extras, there was more pressure on Sorokin’s net and an effort against his post before Maxim Mamin got the decisive goal in the 78th minute. The forward, recalled to the team for today’s game after being a healthy scratch on Wednesday, wrote his name in the history books when he got in front of Igor Bobkov to redirect a Mat Robinson point shot and send the Red-and-Blue half of Moscow into raptures. It was the second time Avangard had seen a Moscow team win the cup in its building: in 2012 Dynamo took the prize thanks to a Jakub Klepis goal in game seven of that final. But for so long, it seemed that this would be the day that Avangard found a way to win against CSKA. Two losses in regular season, three in the playoffs: the Hawks were in the last-chance saloon. Hartley’s instructions were clear – get forward, get pucks to the net and find a way to solve Ilya Sorokin. The response was all the coach could have asked for. Avangard pressed from the first face-off. All the key indicators showed a team determined to leave it all out there in a hard-hitting performance – and the rewards came as the Hawks lifted off for a 2-0 lead. One of the sub-plots of this series has revolved around Sergei Shumakov. The former CSKA man was Avangard’s leading goalscorer through the playoffs but failed to score in the opening three games against his former club. That came to an end in the 13th minute of game four when he put his team in front for the first time in the grand final. Like Avangard’s previous two markers in the series, it came on the power play. Cody Franson's point shot deflected through traffic and left the stickless Sorokin helpless to prevent Shumakov from tapping the puck into a wide open net. However, there was still an anxious moment to come as the video review sought to confirm any goalie interference on the part od David Desharnais. Avangard had seen two big goals whistled off in the previous two games but after a tense wait for the home crowd in Balashikha the ref pointed to the center. The home team got another lift moments later when Anton Slepyshev was ejected from the game for kicking at Alexei Emelin as CSKA got a 2-on-1 rush. But that chance was cancelled out when Shumakov took two minutes for diving under the challenge of Mikhail Naumenkov. Four-on-four hockey suited Avangard just fine: Franson doubled the lead with a smart shot from the boards after Taylor Beck made a move from the blue line to open up a shooting lane and stretch Sorokin. But CSKA hadn’t got to a 3-0 lead without knowing how to pose some serious questions at the other end. The Army Men responded in the second period and quickly raised its game. Konstantin Okulov thought he’d scored on the wraparound when he got the puck past Bobkov, only for the goalie to recover and scoop the puck off the goal line. That reprieve was brief, though. From the face-off, Ivan Telegin won the draw and Kirill Kaprizov wired a wrister from the top of the circle to halve the deficit. Then it was anyone’s game. Chances came and went at both ends, Sorokin and Bobkov were called into action to deny both sets of forwards. In the third period, CSKA raised the tempo of its offense at last and took the game to Avangard. But the home team dug in: after 60 minutes, it had 17 hits against three from CSKA, 19 blocked shots against 10. The sight of Yemelin returning a couple of shifts after taking a slap shot to the face typified the resilience with which Omsk was defending its lead. Still, though, chances came. Kaprizov spurned an opening that looked easier than his goal; Alexander Popov looked for a pass across the crease to Okulov when a shot seemed the better option. Time was ticking down and Avangard was close to securing the win that would extend this series. Then came the big twist. Okulov tied the scores with less than three minutes to go, breaking Avangard hearts and forcing the action into overtime for the first time in this final series. Popov took the puck around the back and got the break when a home defenseman fell. With time to prepare a shooting chance, Popov dropped off the puck for Okulov who used Yemelin as a screen before placing a perfect shot just below Bobkov’s blocker and in off the far post. Bobkov shrugged off that disappointment to make a huge save in the dying seconds. Maxim Shalunov was all alone in front of the net and had two swings at it to win the cup for CSKA. But Bobkov came up big to close the door and prolong Avangard’s season – at least into the extras. In that overtime, Beck came close to winning it for Avangard when he hit the post during a power play. The puck clipped the piping and even took a deflection off Sorokin’s back but would not cross the line. CSKA killed the penalty and, just moments later, celebrated victory thanks to Mamin’s game-winning goal. Gagarin Cup Finals recap CSKA Moscow b. Avangard Omsk 4-0 (5-2, 3-0, 2-0, 3-2OT) game #3 full stats https://en.khl.ru/game/674/81671/protocol/ game #4 full stats https://en.khl.ru/game/674/81674/protocol/ game #3 highlights game #4 highlights

the problem wouldn't be about regular judo events (I'm not sure, but I think they're happy with a short break from the last appearance with the former Country)... it would be for the Olympics...the IOC has become stricter and stricter on that nowadays...they ask for a 3-year break (or the official written permission by the previous National Federation), which can't be Mollaei's case in any of the supposed options... probably he's thinking about his future not only in Olympic terms, but overall, which means that any option could really be on the table...and who cares if the Olympics are gone (just trying to intepretate his thoughts after reading your posts...I haven't heard anything about this specific case)... in any case, as I wrote, it's sad to see a man (and an athlete) facing this kind of troubles...whatever happens, I'm sure this is not an easy moment in his life...

however, today is Ester Friday, so here in Italy the tradition is about not eating meat nor anything related to it... so, my lunch was about fresh tuna and a good mixed salad (with many types of vegetables like "travisana" -red leaves salad- fennel, carrots, celery, spring onions, yellow and red pepper, tomato), followed by some fruit (apple) and a slice of "Colomba" (classic Easter sweet for us in Northern Italy...see the picture in my previous post in this thread)... my dinner, instead, was only about a dish of pasta (with the most classic tomato sauce), some dried fruit (nuts, almonds and things like that) and some chocolate pudding...

not exactly my kind of cuisine, but it looks interesting... and I like a lot the attitude to try and experiment, personal interpretation of the general principles of a certain cuisine is one of the main characteristics of a good chef... only pastry is a "perfect science", anything else in the kitchen is only about finding the right balance between ingredients and taste...

I think it is, because looking at the IJF calendar in 2019 there are no Asian nor Oceania Champs standalone... p.s. sad story, the Mollaei situation... hopefully, he's not going to represent Azerbaijan, if he wants to compete in Tokyo (he'd be totally outside the required times with his new Nation and I don't think Miraesmaili would give him permission to start for your Neighbours, if there's such a feud between them)...

not a very good day for Italy...but I expected some kind of flop after the European Champs... hopefully this day "off" is not gonna hurt too much Busà's ranking (meanwhile Bottaro and Crescenzo still did a decent job and in the worse case they'd end up 5th)...

K1PL Stage #3 (Rabat, MAR) women's Individual Kata Gold Medal match: Kyou Shimizu vs Sandra Sanchez Jaime Bronze Medal match #1: Grace Lau Mo Sheung vs Dilara Eltemur Bronze Medal match #2: Viviana Bottaro vs Hikaru Ono women's Individual Kumite, -50kg Gold Medal match: Radwa Sayed vs Serap Ozcelik Arapoglu Bronze Medal match #1: Mariya Koulinkovitch vs Junna Tsukii Bronze Medal match #2: Bettina Plank vs Ku Tsui-Ping women's Individual Kumite, -55kg Gold Medal match: Wen Tzu-Yun vs Anzhelika Terliuga Bronze Medal match #1: Tuba Yakan vs Istri Agung Sanistyarani Cok Bronze Medal match #2: Travat Khaksar vs Sara Yamada men's Individual Kumite, -60kg Gold Medal match: Eray Samdan vs Darkhan Assadilov Bronze Medal match #1: Sadriddin Saymatov vs Yunosuke Minami Bronze Medal match #2: Angelo Crescenzo vs Naoto Sago men's Individual Kumite, -67kg Gold Medal match: Burak Uygur vs Alì Elsawy Bronze Medal match #1: Hiroto Shinoara vs Hesham Abdelgawad Abdalla Bronze Medal match #2: Soichiro Nakano vs Masamichi Funahashi men's Individual Kumite, -75kg Gold Medal match: Stanislav Horuna vs Alì Asiabari Bronze Medal match #1: Logan Dacosta vs Rafael Aghayev Bronze Medal match #2: Ken Nishimura vs Ryota Nakamura men's Team Kata (6 teams from 4 Countries at the start, basically all already in the medal matches before the beginning of the competition) Gold Medal match: Russia vs Turkey Bronze Medal match #1: Algeria vs Morocco Bronze Medal match #2: Algeria (2) vs Morocco (2)

well, it looks that we're going to have a high caliber tournament, after all (which is not such good news for the poor Italian team, now risking more and more to be humiliated by the powerhouses of the game )... I can't wait for the worlds to start...I think this year I'm gonna watch more IIHF hockey than NHL's in the next few weeks (which is not always the case for me)...

128 points, which is the highest score since Mario Lemieux in the 1995/1996 season (that year super-Mario scored 161 points...but it was another Hockey)... after that, Jaromir Jagr scored 127 points in 1998/1999 and Joe Thornton 125 in 2005/2006...in the last few years, the winner of the Art Ross Trophy usually was around 105/108 points (if not less, Jamie Benn won the top scorer's award with only 87 points in 2014/2015, negative record in the modern era for a full 82-game season)...

la qualificazione lui l'ha in tasca per la medaglia di Glasgow (i medagliati internazionali dell'anno preecedente sono sempre di fatto pre-qualificati)...e anche tecnicamente il tempo dell'anno scorso è valido ai fini dell'iscrizione mondiale...non è quello il problema... il problema è l'idiozia di un atleta di quel livello che sente l'irrefrenabile bisogno di buttare una carriera nel cesso per una stupidata... detto questo, io sull'uso di stupefacenti sono un'integralista spietato...ha perso completamente la mia stima e non potrà mai riguadagnarla per nulla al mondo...

first results of the day and guess what? Kyou Shimizu and Sandra Sanchez Jaime will fight for the Gold Medal in the women's individual Kata... and Angelo Crescenzo lost once again against Darkhan Assadilov in the semifinal match of the men's -60kg (kumite)...like Busà against the Iranians, it really looks that Crescenzo just can't fight against the Kazakh guys..he's always on the losing side... p.s. by the way, Assadilov earned his spot in the Gold Medal match by beating one after another Naoto Sago (world silver medallist 2018), Douglas Brose (world champion 2016) and Angelo Crescenzo (world champion 2018)...max respect for this man...he's good, really good...

premesso che è un idiota che prenderei volentieri a calci personalmente, potrebbe anche sfangarla...per una canna dovrebbero dargli solo 3 mesi a partire dalla sospensione cautelare e quindi la squalifica eventuale finirebbe già all'inizio di Luglio, ben prima dei mondiali (anche se poi credo verrà punito anche dalla federazione e lasciato a casa lo stesso)...

I know, but it was a full "copy & paste" from wkf website...there's no personal touch (apart for the formatting) in the article...

oh, thanks! a few weeks ago, I suggested to Sindo to enable the Hawaiian flag for the Surfing events, but I forgot that there we also have some guys from NCL, so I guess he put also that flag into the mix...great! p.s. fixed...

Countdown to #Karate1Rabat Five burning questions heading into anticipated Karate 1-Premier League event From karatekas on top form dominating the competition to new names taking the spotlight, from unexpected surprises to heart-breaking moments, the 2019 Karate 1-Premier League has offered plenty of intrigue and excitement so far. The third stop of the season is taking place in less than one week in Rabat (Morocco); as the spectacular event approaches, a slew of questions appears on the horizon of the Karate world. 1. Will Rabat see another episode of the Shimizu-Sanchez duel? All three Karate’s major international events this year have had a similar outcome in Female Kata: Kiyou Shimizu of Japan and Sandra Sanchez of Spain fighting for gold. The two biggest names of the category have engaged in a thrilling battle for the domination of the competition with the Spanish Kata queen taking two golds and the Japanese two-time World champion winning one event. Sanchez prevailed in the Karate 1-Premier League Dubai and the Karate 1-Series A Salzburg while Shimizu succeeded in Karate 1-Premier League Paris. The Karate 1-Premier League Rabat will be another showdown of the two competitors who have met in the final of six of the last ten major international events. Other top karatekas such as recently-proclaimed European Championships runner-up Viviana Bottaro of Italy, new Pan American champion Maria Dimitrova of the Dominican Republic and promising Dilara Eltemur of Turkey among others will try to surprise the top favourites. 2. Will Serap Ozcelik win a third consecutive gold? Turkey’s Serap Ozcelik is - together with France’s Gwendoline Philippe and Steven Dacosta, and Japan’s Ryo Kiyuna - one of the competitors who managed to take a clean sheet of victories in this season of Karate 1-Premier League. The Turkish star who is also the current Grand Winners of Female Kumite -50kg will arrive in Rabat as the top favourite to take gold. While Ozcelik failed to retain the continental title less than a month ago, the Turkish Karate Star hopes to go back to winning ways in Rabat. Silver medallists Miho Miyahara of Japan and Ukraine’s Kateryna Kriva, and new continental champion Sophia Bouderbane of France will be among the competitors trying to take the crown in the category. 3. Will Grand Winners take a stand in Rabat? After the first two events, the defending Grand Winners have captured the attention of fans with impressive victories. Serap Ozcelik of Turkey, Gwendoline Philippe and Steven Dacosta of France and Ryo Kiyuna of Japan are all Grand Winners taking two golds this year, while Sandra Sanchez of Spain, Ayumi Uekusa of Japan and Ugur Aktas of Turkey have managed to claim one triumph. The eyes will be set on Alizee Agier of France, Eray Samdan of Turkey, Rafael Aghayev of Azerbaijan and Jonathan Horne of Germany, all of them Grand Winners who are yet to take the top of the podium in Premier League. Also, the event in Rabat will see how Grand Winner Sara Cardin of Italy makes her Karate 1-Premier League debut this year after recovering from an injury. 4. Who will be the new names taking the competition by storm? As the quest to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 intensifies, Karate’s first-class series of international events is putting the focus on some promising competitors who are using the Karate 1-Premier League as a launching pad to capture all the attention of the sport. While not exactly a “new kid on the block”, Japan’s Ken Nishimura is one of the competitors elbowing his way up in the competitive Karate world. With one gold this year (In Paris) to complete the four medals he got last season, the 23-year-old karateka is surprising with his effective fighting system. With the European Games going to Belarus later this year, all the eyes of the Karate world in the country are set on Anton Isakau. The 23-year-old karateka has won his first title in international events this year when he prevailed in Paris. Isakau went to win silver at the European Championships last month and is presenting his candidacy to rule Male Kumite -84kg. France’s Mehdi Filali at only 19-years-old, Kazakhstan’s Didar Amirali (23-years-old), and 22-year-old Clio Ferracuti of Italy are among the young karatekas who had made it to the finals at the Karate 1-Premier League events this year. 5. Will the campaign to request Karate’s inclusion in Paris 2024 continue in Rabat? The answer is yes. The Karate world gave a demonstration of unity at the EKF European Championships in Guadalajara (Spain) last month as a special ceremony took place there with all 500 karatekas taking a stand to defend Karate’s wishes to be included in the programme of Paris 2024. Some of the best athletes in the world also showed their support to the WKF campaign by taking the #TsukiForKarate2024 challenge. With hundreds of Karate fans from all over the world still sending the pictures and videos to request the inclusion of the sport in the programme of Paris 2024, the Karate 1-Premier League Rabat is expected to continue the movement with several actions to be held throughout the weekend. The Karate world will go on with the fight. The Karate 1-Premier League Rabat will take place from April 19 to 21. The final day of action will be streamed LIVE on karateworld.tv