The UAE national Karate team achieved a great accomplishment by winning eight medals on the opening day of the 4th Men and 2nd Women West Asian Karate Championship being held in Sharjah.

The event is organised and hosted by the Sharjah Ladies Club (SLC), in cooperation with the Taekwondo and Karate Federation and the General Authority of Sports and Youth Welfare, under the supervision of the West Asian Karate Federation (WAKF).

The UAE national team players managed to win eight medals on the first day, receiving two gold, four silver, and two medals. The event saw the participation of 115 players from the teams of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, in addition to the participation of the UAE national team.

The UAE's gold medals were awarded to Marwan Al Mazmi in the Kata men's singles competition and Hawra Mohammed Abbas in the under 55 kg women's competition. The four silver medals went to Jassem Abdullah in the under 55 kg competition, Salama Jassem in the singles Kata competition, and Umniya Haji in the under 61 kg competition, while the UAE national team won the Silver Kata team award. The bronze medals went to Osama Khalid and Ahmed Salim in the under 60 kg and under 67 kg competitions respectively.

Marwan Al Mazmi, the star of the men's national Karate team, dedicated the first gold medal in the singles Kata competition to the UAE, which saw the participation of five players, Zain El Abidine Radhi from Iraq, Giorgio Musaed from Lebanon, Adham Abdel Nasser from Qatar, Ali Talib Al Ra'isi from Oman, and Emirati star Marwan Al Mazmi.

Iraqi player Zain El Abidine opened the competitions with a win over the Lebanese player Giorgio Musaed, and later played against the Emirati champion Marwan AL Mazmi in the semi-finals, in which the latter won. In the second semi-final, Qatari player Adham Abdel Nasser defeated Omani player Ali Talib Al Ra'isi, whereas Marwan Al Mazmi defeated the Qatari player in the final game and earned the first UAE medal in the West Asian Championship.

The second gold medal went to Emirati champion Hawra Mohammed Abbas, who opened the women's under 55 kg singles competition with a win over Iraqi player Chara Fayek in the semi-finals, while Jordanian player Raghad Al Muhtaseb qualified for the final without competing since the number of players was three. In the final, Hawra Mohammed Abbas seized the title Msaltha after defeating Raghad Al Muhtaseb.

The first silver medal was won in the under 55 kg men's singles competitions by Jassem Abdullah, who immediately qualified to the final. In the semi-finals, Saudi player Abdullah Al Harbi played against Omani player Saeed Al Batrani, in which the Saudi player won and managed to beat Emirati player Jassem Abdullah in the final, receiving the gold medal, while Jassem Abdullah received the silver medal.

The Emirati female players won the three remaining silver medals. Amina Haji defeated the Iraqi Kizan Faeq in the under 61 kg women's singles and qualified for the final, while Jordanian Evelyn Ada'da defeated Lebanese Neamat Mashaqo. In the final game, Jordanian Evelyn Ada'da won the gold medal while Emirati Amina Haji received the silver medal. In the women's collective Kata competition, the UAE national team won the silver medal defeating Iraq in the semi-final, before losing to the Iranian national team in the final.

The last silver medal was earned by player Salama Jassem in the women's single Kata competition, having succeeded in defeating the Iraqi Wafa Salahuddin in the semi-final, while she lost to the Iranian Neda Rezaei in the final.

As for the bronze medals, player Osama Khalid won the third place and the bronze medal in the men's single under 60 kg category, after losing to the Saudi Abd al-Hadi al-Maliki and Ahmed Salim, who took part in the men's singles under 67 kg category and lost to the Iranian Siad Amir.
Source: WAM