Premiere with two great Greek hits, at the 57th European Championship of Men and Women Karate in Gaziantep, Turkey. Vicky Pantetsidou and Kelly Kidonaki qualified for the “small” final of their categories and on Saturday morning (May 28) they will claim the bronze medal.
Specifically, Panetsidou, “veteran” with more than 10 appearances in European championships, won in the -68k category. Curici (Switzerland) in the “16” and Semeraro (Italy) in the “8”. He was defeated in the semifinals by Kopunova (Slovakia) and will face Makian (Armenia) for the bronze medal. If he succeeds, he will be the fourth to win, as he already has 1 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze from previous events.
Kidonaki, on the other hand, is a “rookie” in a big event at the women’s level (she was the European Junior Champion in 2018). But that did not stop her from making an impressive appearance in Turkey. In the category + 68k. defeated Mulolo (Belgium) in the “32” and Keinanen (Finland) in the “16”, respectively. She lost to the “8” from Perovic (2-2 score but her Serbian opponent had taken the first point), which qualified for the final. Thus, the champion from Heraklion competed in the repechages where she defeated Aligeva (Azerbaijan) and in the “small” final she will face Lesiak (Croatia).
In the other Greek participations of the premiere:
– Georgina Xenou won the 7th place in Europe in the KATA women
– Lambros Markesinis was 25th in the KATA men
– Dimitris Stolis (-75k) lost in the 2nd round to Kimov (Northern Macedonia)
– Konstantinos Mastrogiannis (-84k) was defeated in the first round by Gabrinovic (Croatia) who reached the final. Thus, he “pulled” the Greek champion in the repechages, where he lost to the Turk Oz Murat.
– George Tzanos (+ 84k.) Was defeated in the first round by Gurbanli (Azerbaijan)
– Maria Mastrogianni (-61k) lost in the first round to Silva (Portugal)
* Tomorrow, Thursday (26/5) the other athletes of the Greek team will compete.
The draws:
-50k. (C) St. Jilia – Ahmetovic (BIH)
-55k. (C) M. Stoli – Lirisman (EST)
-60k. (A) Steph. Foreigner – Dujakovic (BIH)
-67k. (Α) Διον. Foreigner – Ojala (EST)
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