In the men’s competition, a real sensation happened already in the quarterfinals, as not a single representative of the hosts managed to overcome this barrier.
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In the confrontation between Evento Gužauskas and Yusaku Watanabe, after the main fight time, one referee awarded the victory to the Lithuanian, while the other four called it a draw. In the overtime, E. Gužauskas’s advantage was no longer in doubt, and the referees recorded his victory with a score of 4:1.
Meanwhile, Paulius Žimantas’s fight with the defending champion Yuki Okada lasted only half a minute. The Japanese kick to the Lithuanian’s leg ended so painfully for the host athlete that the duel was stopped, and P. Žimantas confidently advanced to the next stage.
In the other quarterfinals, Kazakhstani athlete Andžejus Kinzerskis defeated Ryuji Toda, who in the only first stage duel surpassed the Pole Maciej Mazur, and another Kazakhstani representative Anton Zimarev handled Kazushi Watanabe.
So in the semifinals, two confrontations awaited between Lithuanian and Kazakhstani athletes. Unfortunately, both went unsuccessfully for our athletes.
E. Gužauskas twice made illegal hand strikes to the face of A. Kinzerskis in the first minute of the fight, received two warnings, and later was unable to tip the scales in his favor. After the main fight time, 4 referees awarded the victory to the Lithuanian’s opponent and only one called it a draw.
P. Žimantas was much more active in the first minute of the fight with A. Zimarev but also earned a warning. Later the opponent recovered, and at the beginning of the third minute of the fight managed to land a successful kick to the Lithuanian’s leg and ended the duel prematurely.
Thus, the Lithuanians finished third in the final standings, and in the final, A. Kinzerskis, who defeated his compatriot, celebrated the victory.
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The women’s competition had a completely opposite situation – only Japanese fighters reached the semifinals.
Brigita Gustaitytė lost the quarterfinal fight to Yuna Mokudai 0:5, and Aneta Meškauskienė was defeated by Momo Fujihara 0:4.
In the other quarterfinals, Ramu Amikawa surpassed Alina Ossipenko from Kazakhstan, and the future champion Mihiro Suzuki left no chance to the Hungarian Lili Mezo.
In the semifinals, M. Fujihara defeated Y. Mokudai, and M. Suzuki defeated R. Amikawa. In the final, multiple world absolute and heavyweight champion M. Suzuki firmly defended the title of the first KCC tournament winner and proved that she currently has no equals on the tatami.
The Champions Champion tournament was held for the first time a year ago. It is an exclusive top-level karate commercial competition where the winners receive a prize of 10 million Japanese yen. The runners-up receive 2 million yen each, and the third-place winners get 600 thousand each.
Last year, Lithuania was represented in Tokyo only by E. Gužauskas and B. Gustaitytė, both of whom reached the finals and became runners-up.
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