Over the weekend, Canadian National Team Roster members were in Spain for the Madrid Premier League K-1 competition, which was held from November 29th-December 1st. The Canadian delegation included eight athletes, accompanied by two coaches. A total of 772 athletes from 89 countries competed in this event. This weekend event saw two top-5 performances on the part of Canadian athletes, including one bronze medal.

In women’s kumite, Haya Jumaa (-61kg), of Ontario, won her first two matches before losing (by decision after a tied score) to eventual gold medallist (and world # 1 ranked) Xiaoyan Yin of China. Jumaa then convincingly defeated both Ingrida Suchankova of Slovakia (8-0) and Diana Shostak of the Ukraine (3-0) to take the bronze medal. Melissa Bratic (-68kg), also of Ontario, won her first four matches before losing to Irina Zaretska of Azerbaijan (#1 ranked in the world in this division) in the semi-finals; Bratic then lost the bronze medal match to Halyna Melnyk of the Ukraine, finishing 5th.

The World Karate Federation’s Premier League K1 Series are important preparation events on the road to the next summer Olympic Games. The next event for Canadian karate athletes will be the Paris Premier League K1 taking place in January 2020.

Photo: kphotos.net