DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, Monday, November 29, 2021 – From November 16 to 21, the Canadian Karate team competed at the World Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, winning a bronze medal and two top 5 finishes.

The 14 Canadian athletes present competed in 13 individual categories, as well as 2 team categories. 982 athletes from 105 countries participated in the event, which included senior kata, kumite and para-karate categories.

The performances

In the women’s para-karate, intellectual disability category (K22), Natalie Olson won bronze on the last day of competition. The reigning Pan American Champion finished 2nd in her group, which allowed her to advance to the bronze medal round, where she defeated her Croatian opponent.

Melissa Bratic was the first Canadian athlete to reach the medal round in the women’s -68kg kumite category on day one. After an impressive 8-0 opening win over Croatia’s Zorko, she defeated Bosnia’s Cavar 2-1, England’s Hull 1-1 and Egypt’s Abdelaziz 1-0, only to lose 1-0 in the semi-finals to Italy’s Semeraro. In the bronze medal match against France’s Agier, she was leading the match until the last seconds, when her opponent surprised her with a kick. The Frenchwoman won the match 2-1, with Bratic taking 5th place.

On the second day, Haya Jumaa had a similar experience in the women’s -61kg kumite category. Her first match was also won by points, as she defeated Chile’s Huaiquiman 10-0, followed by wins over Turkey’s Coban 1-0, and 6-0 over Puerto Rico’s Fonseca Romero. In the semi-final, against Serogina from Ukraine, the match ended without any points being scored and the officials’ decision went to Ukraine. In the bronze medal match, Snel from the Netherlands lead the score to win the match 5-2, with Jumaa taking 5th place.

Ha Thi Ngo excelled in women’s kata on the third day. In the first round, she finished 3rd behind Japan’s Ono and Germany’s Juettner, allowing her to advance to the next round. In the second round, she finished 2nd behind Ono, advancing to the semi-finals. Unfortunately, her journey ended there as she was not in the top 3 required to reach the medal rounds, finishing in 11th place.

In para-karate, Patricia Wright’s run in the women’s intellectual disability category (K21) and Conrad Graup’s run in the men’s intellectual disability category (K22) both came to a halt in the first round, failing to achieve the score required to reach the medal round. Wright finished the competition in 7th place, while Graup finished in 9th place.

In women’s kumite, Jusleen Virk in the -50 kg category won her first match 3-1 against Greece, but unfortunately could not defeat her Taipei opponent in the second round. In the -55 kg category, Kathryn Campbell lost her first match against Chile, while Yashna Hathi also lost her first match against Croatia in the +68 kg category.

In men’s kata, William Claveau did not reach the first four places in his group and therefore could not advance to the second round. In men’s kumite, in the -84 kg category, Mohammadreza Nikbaksh won his first match 3-2 against Kenya, but lost his second match against France. Nicholas Patrick Rivest lost his first round match against Belgium in the -75 kg category, while Alexandre Benjamin Rivest also lost his first round match against Ireland in the +84 kg category.

In both team kumite events, Canada lost in the first round as the women’s team faced Sweden and the men’s team faced Hungary.

The delegation also included seven referees on site. Six of them passed their exams and received a new rank. One of them, Thomas De Freyman, obtained his full WKF licence. This makes him the second referee currently active in Canada to have achieved this level.

About Karate Canada

Karate Canada is a not-for-profit corporation with the objective of describing and incorporating all activities related to the promotion, organization, regulation and popularization of the sport of karate all over Canada, of protecting the physical and emotional health of athletes, and of promoting the interests of karate throughout Canada.

Karate Canada and its 11 Provincial and Territorial Associations members normally assemble roughly 16,000 participants nationwide. Furthermore, Karate Canada is a proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, the World Karate Federation and the Pan American Karate Federation. See more at www.karatecanada.org