Armenia’s First-Ever Medal at a WKF World Championship: Suren Arutyunyan Wins Bronze in Cairo

21-year-old karateka Suren Arutyunyan (75 kg) has brought Armenia its first-ever medal at a WKF World Championship. At the 2025 World Championships held in Cairo, Arutyunyan won the bronze medal by defeating the USA’s Scott Thomas 2:0 in the bout for third place.

Throughout the tournament, the Armenian athlete demonstrated confident and consistent performance, securing victories over competitors from Uzbekistan, Mexico, Turkey, and Morocco.

Armenia was represented at the 2025 World Championships by two athletes — Suren Arutyunyan (75 kg) and Gor Nersisyan (84 kg). However, only Arutyunyan managed to claim a medal, writing a new chapter in the history of Armenian karate.

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WKF World Championships have been held since 1970, and Armenia has participated since gaining independence in 1992. For more than three decades, Armenia remained without medals, and only in 2025 did an Armenian athlete finally reach the podium.

The WKF is the largest international karate organization and was responsible for organizing the karate events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where karate made its Olympic debut.