site.btaIvet Goranova Wins Historic Gold at Karate 1 Premier League in Cairo

Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Ivet Goranova claimed the gold medal in the kumite 55 kg category at the Karate 1-Premier League tournament in Cairo (Egypt). This marks Bulgaria’s first-ever title at the world’s most elite and competitive karate series.

Goranova, who won Olympic gold in Tokyo 2020, fought five matches on Friday, securing four victories. In the group stage, she defeated Madina Sadigova (Azerbaijan) 1:0, Maya Scherrer (Switzerland) 8:0, and drew 1:1 with Anna Chernysheva (neutral athlete).

In the quarterfinals, she avenged a previous loss by defeating Tuba Yakan (Turkey) 5:1, whom she had lost to in the 2023 World Championship final. In the semifinals, she edged past Ksenia Dronchanka (Poland) 1:0.

In a dramatic final bout, Goranova overcame Akari Harada (Japan) with a 7:6 victory, scoring the decisive points in the final seconds after trailing 4:6.

Another Bulgarian, Teodora Tsaneva, also competed in Cairo in the kumite -50 kg category. She placed second in Group 3 but narrowly missed advancing by just one point, despite a strong performance.

Cairo will host the World Karate Championships at the end of November this year.