SILVER FOR AL JAAFARI AT KARATE LEAGUE

Mohammed Al Jaafari picked up a brilliant silver medal at the World Karate Federation Youth League in the Croatian city of Umag on Saturday.

Al Jaafari blazed his way to the final of the -70kg class with six victories over fighters from across Europe, including a semi-final win over the reigning European Champion.

He eventually lost in the final to Ukraine’s Maksym Kravchuk to settle for an impressive silver. His teammate Omar Shakra was also in form but just came up short, losing his -55kg bronze medal contest to another Ukrainian, Nikita Filipov.

Afif Ghaith also dropped into the -68kg repechage section for the bronze medal but missed out in his last match.

Rahaf Ali was knocked out in the first round of the women's -59kg competition, losing to Italy’s Anita Bagzalia.

The national team will conclude their participation on Sunday with Zaki Abu Kaoud (+70kg), Ibrahim Shamoun (+70kg), Abdullah Hammad (-61Kg) and Mohammed Awad (-61kg) all in action. The tournament has attracted 2,700 fighters from 73 countries.