Saadi finishes fifth in World Karate C’ship

KARACHI: Pakistan’s leading karateka Saadi Abbas secured fifth position in the World Karate 1-Series A Championship organised by the World Karate Federation (WKF) in Istanbul, Turkey, from September 23-24.

As many as 151 athletes from 80 countries participated in the weight category of -75 kilogramme. Karate Series A is part of qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 ranking.Karachi-based Saadi defeated Ali Akabari of Iran 3-0 while in his second clash, Saadi ousted world silver medallist Erman Eltemur of Turkey 2-0. In the third fight, Saadi, also a US Open gold medallist, overcame Noah Bitsch of Germany 1-0.

In the pre-quarter-finals, Saadi, also a two-time Commonwealth Championship gold medallist, defeated Nikola Malovic of Montenegro 2-0 to make it to the quarter-finals in which he defeated Iran’s star Sajad Hayati 3-0.

But unfortunately, after a tough fight with Japan’s Ken Nishimura in the semi-finals, Saadi fractured the middle finger of his left hand, losing the fight 1-0.Nishimura is the reigning champion of Karate 1-Series A.

In the bronze medal fight, Saadi went down against five-time world champion Rafeal Aghayev of Azerbaijan 2-0, securing fifth position.A senior official of Pakistan Karate Federation (PKF) said Saadi needs government’s attention.

“He is such a fine player but still nobody cares about him and this is unfortunate. The government should help this boy as he is in top form and can win medals on the international circuit,” the official said.