Said Oubaya of the national karate team (Kumite, -67 kg) was awarded the World Karate Federation (WKF) Grand Prix on Sunday evening in Casablanca, at the 18th edition of the Mohammed VI International Karate Cup, representing the 4th stage of the “Karate-1 Premier League.”
The win marked a first in the history of the discipline on a national level. Oubaya’s victory follows his participation in the four stages of the “Karate-1 Premier League,” where he won three medals, including two golds in Paris and Antalya and a silver in Cairo.
The Moroccan champion also climbed to the top of the world rankings at the 3rd stage of the competition in Paris.
The athlete expressed his delight at winning this season’s WKF Grand Prix, indicating that this distinction was the fruit of painstaking training under the guidance of the technical executives of the Moroccan Federation of Karate and Associated Disciplines (FRMKDA).
In a statement to MAP, the award-winning athlete said he was determined to continue his efforts to honor Morocco and carry the national flag high in world competitions.
For his part, the coach of the national Kumite team, Abdelkebir Douri, emphasized that the Moroccan champions had been able to win several medals during the three previous stages of the “Karate-1 Premier League,” following the example of their distinguished participation in the recent Mohammed VI International Karate Cup.
Thanks to three successive victories, champion Oubaya earned this distinction, a first in the history of Moroccan karate, he continued, pointing out that this achievement testifies to the efforts of the FRMKDA, which supports Moroccan players to reach higher levels.
The Grand Prix de la Coupe – Ladies’ Section – was won by Japan’s Maho Ono (Kata), Kazakhstan’s Moldir Zhangbyrbay (Kumite -50 kg), Germany’s Reem Khamis (Kumite -61 kg), Sweden’s Elena Quirici (Kumite -68 kg) and Spain’s Maria Torres (Kumite +68 kg).
For the men, the Grand Prix went to Japan’s Kakeru Nishiyama (Kata) and Hiromu Hashimoto (Kumite -60 kg), as well as to Egypt’s Abdellah Abdelaziz (Kumite -75 kg), Youssef Badawy (Kumite -84 kg) and Taha Tareq Mahmoud (Kumite +84 kg).
The Karate-1 Premier League, under the authority of the WKF, is recognized as the world’s most prestigious karate tournament.
Since its launch in 2011, this global competition has constantly evolved. In the 2023 edition, over 400 athletes from 60 countries participated.