Malaga karate flexes its muscles again

A new and exciting year has got off to a great start for Malaga karate, with 11 medals being brought home from the National Championships in Ourense this week.

Damián Quintero, reigning Premier League champion and runner-up in the European, World and Olympic kata championships, picked up gold, some 19 years after his first.

Also gold medallists were José Rafael Ibáñez, in kumite -84kg; the Andalusian women's kata team, all from Malaga (Sabrina Savoy Medero, Julieta Ávarez, Aina Sánchez and Carla Bredoux) and the Andalusian women's kumite team, comprising María Torres, Carmen García and Ana Cabra.

In a year without an Olympics, there are still several events where Malaga can impose itself on the world stage, such as the European Senior Championships in Guadalajara in March and four stops in the Premier League (Cairo, Rabat, Fukuoka and Dublin).