On May 7, the EKF European Karate Championship 2025 began at the Karen Demirchyan Sports Complex in Yerevan. On the first day of competition, six athletes represented Armenia, one of whom made it to the bronze medal bout.
Final Pairs after Day One (May 7)
Men
Kata – Enez Ozdemir (Turkey) vs. Raul Martin Romero (Spain)
75 kg – Nemanja Mikulic (Montenegro) vs. Ernest Sharafutdinov (Russia)
84 kg – Valerii Chobotar (Ukraine) vs. Ivan Kvesic (Croatia)
+84 kg – Angelo Kvesic (Croatia) vs. Mehdi Filali (France)
Women
61 kg – Beata Girvica (Latvia) vs. Alexandra Sholokhova (Ukraine)
68 kg – Maria Nieto (Spain) vs. Hanna Riedel (Germany)
+68 kg – Kyriaki Kidonaki (Greece) vs. Daria Bulai (Ukraine)
Armenia’s Success in the Men’s 84 kg Weight Class
U21 European Champion Gor Nersisyan had a strong tournament, defeating athletes from Romania, Montenegro, and Kosovo, but lost in the semifinals to Croatia’s Ivan Kvesic. On May 10, Gor Nersisyan (Armenia) will fight for bronze against Simon Seckar (Slovakia).
In the other bronze bout in this weight category, Eduard Gasparyan, an Armenian from Russia, will face Janne Haubold (Germany).
Other Results for Armenian Karate Athletes
Men’s Kata – Mikhail Mkhitaryan (Armenia) won his first match against Norway, but lost to Switzerland.
Men’s 75 kg – Robert Hovhannisyan (Armenia) won his first match against Cyprus, but lost to France.
Men’s +84 kg – Davit Makyan (Armenia) defeated Denmark, but lost to Scotland.
Women’s 68 kg – Lena Gyulumyan (Armenia) lost her first match to a Scottish athlete.
Women’s +68 kg – Anita Makyan (Armenia) lost her first match to a Norwegian.
On May 8, Team Armenia will be represented by: Yura Zalyan (60 kg), Suren Harutyunyan (67 kg), Elena Gasparyan (50 kg), and Alisa Khojayan (55 kg).