The picturesque city of Poreč, Croatia, became a vibrant hub for international karate competition from June 26 to June 29, 2025, hosting the prestigious Karate 1 – Youth League. This highly anticipated event attracted an impressive participation, with 2,846 young karate athletes from across the globe, showcasing exceptional talent, dedication, and sportsmanship.
The event commenced with the highly regarded WKF Youth Camp training. Marking its 17th edition, the camp featured an elite group of instructors, including Olympic and World Champions. Young karatekas had the unique opportunity to train under the guidance of two-time European Champion Anđelo Kvesić (Croatia), Olympic Champion and three-time World Champion Luigi Busà (Italy), Olympic Champion and three-time World and European Champion Steven Da Costa (France), 2024 Karate 1-Premier League Grand Winner and two-time Asian silver medallist Maho Ono, and four-time World Team Champion Koji Arimoto.
Spanning 46 competitive categories, the event saw a diverse representation of karate styles, including Kata and Kumite, catering to various age groups and weight classes from U14 through U21. Participants represented all five continents, underscoring the global reach and universal appeal of karate as a martial art and competitive sport.
Throughout the competition, athletes demonstrated remarkable skill, technique, and discipline, providing thrilling matches and unforgettable performances. Spectators witnessed intense rivalry combined with respectful camaraderie, reflecting the core values of karate.
The Karate 1 – Youth League in Poreč not only celebrated athletic excellence but also fostered international friendship and cultural exchange among young competitors. As the medals were awarded and national anthems played, the spirit of unity and mutual respect stood out as prominently as the victories themselves.
This event firmly established itself as a significant milestone on the global karate calendar, reinforcing karate’s vibrant future as the next generation of athletes continues to inspire and set new standards of excellence.
Medalists Results Table
| Category | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadet Kata Female | WEGRZYN NADA (ENG) | ZERVOU ELENI (GRE) | GOETHE MARIEL (GER), TRUONG CADENCE (CAN) |
| Cadet Kata Male | MC CANN CALVIN (IRL) | BAKIROV ELSHAN (AIN-1) | MORELLI FILIPPO (ITA), HĂBEANU RAREŞ CRISTIAN (ROU) |
| Cadet Kumite Female -47 kg | PODVOREC NIVES (GER) | KOTENKO VIERONIKA (UKR) | BALANESCU MARIA (ROU), MELLER ADRIANNA (POL) |
| Cadet Kumite Female -54 kg | DATSIUK MARIA (UKR) | BIANCO ILARIA (ITA) | BALANESCU IOANA (ROU), KOZYLIAN NATALIIA (UKR) |
| Cadet Kumite Female -61 kg | ASCIC SEJLA (BIH) | GOMEZ MAURINO ALEJANDRA (ESP) | SOENDERGAARD HANNAH BATH (DEN), GÁŠPÁROVÁ JESSICA (SVK) |
| Cadet Kumite Female 61+ kg | PERGALIA ANASTASIA EIRINI (GRE) | CORREDDU NICOLE (ITA) | AVRUSKINA JELIZAVETA (LAT), REXHEPI LANIKA (KOS) |
| Cadet Kumite Male -52 kg | SZŐCS MIKSA (HUN) | GABRAVA ILIA (GEO) | DOMBROVSKYI VLADYSLAV (UKR), SAVULESCU MATEI (ROU) |
| Cadet Kumite Male -57 kg | QUARANTA CALOGERO (BEL) | MARTIN MAXIMILIAN (GER) | GOMEZ MAURINO DAVID (ESP), SPANIK TOBIAS (CZE) |
| Cadet Kumite Male -63 kg | ENEV MARTIN (CZE) | KALOUSIS ANGELOS-THEODOROS (GRE) | DJORLEV MARKO (MKD), CRIVAT STEFAN (ROU) |
| Cadet Kumite Male -70 kg | KANIVETS VLADYSLAV (UKR) | MOREIRA JERÓNIMO VALENTIM (POR) | BIRAČ NIKOLA (CRO), DOLOMAN MIHAI CRISTIAN (ROU) |
| Cadet Kumite Male 70+ kg | GIULIANO SIMONE (ITA) | MITRIK RICHARD (SVK) | STULNIKOV MAKAR (UKR), FAYIK LOUIE (ENG) |
| Junior Kata Female | LEHNER TAMARA (AUT) | ORDONEZ INES (FRA) | JAY SHIRLEY (GER), MANCA GIULIA (BEL) |
| Junior Kata Male | OLIVEIRA MARTIM (POR) | BRUNDU CRISTIAN (ITA) | LAMOUM TIJANI (MAR), JAKOVLJEVIC VASILIJE (SRB) |
| Junior Kumite Female -48 kg | YILDIRIM DEFNE EDA (TUR) | NYMAN AGNES (SWE) | AKKAYA BEYZA (TUR), COCHARD LOLA (FRA) |
| Junior Kumite Female -53 kg | HNES MARIIA (UKR) | GASHNIKOVA VERONIKA (AIN-1) | TARKOU ROUMAYSSAE (MAR), BOYADZHIEVA ADRIANA (BUL) |
| Junior Kumite Female -59 kg | KLARIC KORINA (CRO) | SCARFONE MORGANE (FRA) | ORUJOVA GULAY (AZE), COCCA MARIALUIGIA (ITA) |
| Junior Kumite Female -66 kg | ZEUMEROVA ALEXANDRA (SVK) | YALIN MESUDE (TUR) | BALUT NATALIA (POL), KRSTOVIC TEODORA (SRB) |
| Junior Kumite Female 66+ kg | ZWANENBURG ROBIN (NED) | DAMJANOVIC JOVANA (MNE) | HAKOVA AMALIE (CZE), TOMIC SARA (CRO) |
| Junior Kumite Male -55 kg | KHALIMOV KHUMOYUNMIRZO (UZB) | VIECHKANOV MAKSYM (UKR) | MONDO BRANCHI MATTEO (ITA), ABDELMALKI YOUSSEF (BEL) |
| Junior Kumite Male -61 kg | BECHTIOUI TAHA (SWE) | AZIBOU SOUHAIB (MAR) | ROMBEAUX MATT (BEL), GALLAGHER JOE (SCO) |
| Junior Kumite Male -68 kg | ZOUEINI RAYAN (BEL) | TOMMASINO ALMERICO (ITA) | HENAULT EMMANUEL-TADEO (CAN), TÓTH ZSOMBOR ZOLTÁN (HUN) |
| Junior Kumite Male -76 kg | ARNAUTOVIC ALI (BIH) | MARTIN PEÑA IZAN (ESP) | ASSARAG MOHAMED (MAR), KELES OSMAN BURAK (TUR) |
| Junior Kumite Male 76+ kg | MOKAS MICHAIL (GRE) | VRANKOVIĆ MARIO (CRO) | SOTIROV BOJIDAR (BUL), ANISIMOV VLADISLAV (BEL) |
| U14 Kata Female | PEÑA GARCIA CANDELA (ESP) | FOLGUEIRA GONZALEZ UXIA (ESP) | STRODL SOPHIE (AUT), SIGISMONDI NOEMI (ITA) |
| U14 Kata Male | LLEÓ DE SMET JORGE (ESP) | GREB ANDRIJA (SRB) | HAWKINS KAITO (ENG), RAMÍREZ RIVAS ADRIAN (ESP) |
| Category | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| U14 Kumite Female -42 kg | ŠĆURIĆ LUCIJA (CRO) | KOLIADA MARHARYTA (UKR) | GOUY LOUISON (FRA), BAUMGÄRTNER LENA (GER) |
| U14 Kumite Female -47 kg | GRÜNER VALENTINA (GER) | NIKONOVA ARINA (LAT) | JERKIN FRANKA (CRO), SALNYK ANITA (UKR) |
| U14 Kumite Female -52 kg | DEDEJ AMANDA (ALB) | MARIĆEVIĆ NEDA (SRB) | ERHARDT SIGNE (SWE), PELEMIS MERISA (BIH) |
| U14 Kumite Female 52+ kg | ŠEVČÍKOVÁ NATÁLIA (SVK) | KADIĆ NOLA (CRO) | BALOG TESA (CRO), HAAS JANA (GER) |
| U14 Kumite Male +55 kg | PARFIMOVICH ARTUR (AIN-2) | POLIATYKIN IVAN (UKR) | STERN TILEN (SLO), OSADCHYI SEMEN (UKR) |
| U14 Kumite Male -40 kg | PAVLIUK YURII (UKR) | PRAKAPENKA DANIIL (AIN-2) | HLUSHKU NIKITA (UKR), DIGNOTI SEBASTIANO (ITA) |
| U14 Kumite Male -45 kg | SHMIDOV OLEKSANDR (UKR) | URSAC PETRU (MDA) | MOFFA ANTONIO (ITA), LEBEDIANSKYI DMITRO (POL) |
| U14 Kumite Male -50 kg | MORAITIS ADAMANTIOS IOANNIS (GRE) | DIMITRAKOPOULOS PETROS (GRE) | MARKOV GEORGI (BUL), SEIKO VOLODYMYR (UKR) |
| U14 Kumite Male -55 kg | DRAGOJEVIC VUK (MNE) | URSULIAK DAVID (UKR) | BAHNARU DAVID (ROU), RAGONE MATTIA (ITA) |
| U21 Kata Female | MANCA CHIARA (BEL) | SIEBERT RITA (GER) | BUI MAI-LINH (FRA), DOMINICI ROBERTA (ITA) |
| U21 Kata Male | PAPPALARDO VINCENZO (ITA) | YURTSEVEN MUHAMMED EFE (TUR) | SLUGA JURE (SLO), MOSCATELLI SAMUELE (ITA) |
| U21 Kumite Female -50 kg | COLLETTI EMMA (ITA) | PAPPA CHRISTINA TRIADA (GRE) | MARKAVA ULYANA (AIN-2), OTT SIDNEY-MICHELLE (GER) |
| U21 Kumite Female -55 kg | KVASNICOVA NINA (SVK) | MARRUCCI VALENTINA (ITA) | PRGA PATRICIJA (CRO), TIEN HSIN-ERH (TPE) |
| U21 Kumite Female -61 kg | ŠNAJDER DARIJA (CRO) | YVON SYDNEY (FRA) | BESLIJA NIKA (CRO), BOUGRINE AMEL (BEL) |
| U21 Kumite Female -68 kg | DESIDERIO ANNA PIA (ITA) | RIEDEL HANNAH (GER) | TOPIĆ KAJA (BIH), DARENSKAYA DAIYANA (KAZ) |
| U21 Kumite Female 68+ kg | FLEISCHER DÓRA (HUN) | BULAY DARIIA (UKR) | LIN YI-HSUAN (TPE), COMAN MARIA CRISTINA (ROU) |
| U21 Kumite Male -60 kg | HAMILL ADAM (SCO) | KADRIĆ FARUK (BIH) | HADDADI AHMED (MAR), ABDELMALKI AMIN (BEL) |
| U21 Kumite Male -67 kg | BALIOTIS GEORGIOS (GRE) | TYSHCHENKO YAROSLAV (UKR) | EJJA AMINE (BEL), ASTARITA RAFFAELE (ITA) |
| U21 Kumite Male -75 kg | PITSUL HEORHII (UKR) | INGENITO GENNARO (ITA) | MIHAJLOV LJUPCO (MKD), KALVANS DENISS (LAT) |
| U21 Kumite Male -84 kg | PALJEVAC SINAN (BIH) | FAJERBACH MAX (CRO) | PATRICK ASHTON (ENG), MORAITIS NIKOLAOS (GRE) |
| U21 Kumite Male 84+ kg | SEKOT NIKOLAI (GER) | PLESIVCAK MISLAV (CRO) | AY AYBERK (TUR), KASIANOV DANIIL (UKR) |