National karate fighters claim medals in Lisbon
By Laman Ismayilova
Azerbaijani karate fighters have claimed two medals at the Karate1 Premier League - Lisbon 2021 held in Portugal.
Asiman Gurbanli earned a silver medal in the +84kg weight category, while Rovshan Aliyev, Tural Baljanli and Ismayil Guliyev won bronze in the men's team kata competition.
The National Karate Federation was founded in 1994. Three years later, it became a full member of the World Karate Federation (WKF).
WKF is the only karate federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee, whose main objective is to combine the basic style of karate under the general rules of the competition and enter into the program of the Olympic Games. It is the largest and most powerful karate organization in the world, comprising 183 countries and more than 50 million members.
Over the past few years, national karate fighters have won prestigious international tournaments, European and World championships.
Rafael Aghayev has managed to achieve all of the highest sporting victories in karate; he is multiple European Champion and multiple World Champion.
For outstanding sports achievements, he has repeatedly received awards from the leadership of the National Olympic Committee, the Youth and Sport Ministry of Azerbaijan Republic.
The President of the World Karate Federation, Antonio Espinosa, called him "Diamond of the Karate World."
Rafael Aghayev won a gold medal in karate (kumite) competitions at the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku.
He secured the gold medal thanks to a victory over Pakistani Ghulam Abbas in the 75kg division final.
Irina Zaretska is also known for her numerous victories at the international area.
She is the owner of the gold medal at the Premier League Karate1 2014 in Almere, bronze at "World Karate Cup 2014", gold at the Premier League Karate1 2015 in Istanbul, silver at the Premier League Karate1 2017, etc.
Azerbaijani karate fighters showed their best at the 29th European Championship among cadets and juniors. Rafael Aghayev (60 kg) and Jeyhun Aghasiyev (65 kg) won gold medals among cadets for the first time. Rashad Huseynov (65 kg) grabbed bronze among juniors.
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