The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan featured a karate competition. Karate made its Olympic debut at these games. Karate is one of four sports that will be featured at the Olympics for the first time in 2020.
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At the 2020 Olympics, Eight Different Karate Events were Featured.
Two karate disciplines were featured: kumite was the sparring discipline and had three weight classes each for men and women; kata was the solo form discipline, and had one event each for men and women.
Competitors choose the kata to show among 102 kata that were accepted by the World Karate Federation. During the course of the tournament, competitors could only perform their kata twice. There were ten contestants in every category.
The three weight classes in Olympic competition for kumite were in contrast to the five generally utilised by the World Karate Federation (WKF) (WKF). The two lightest (-60kg and -67kg for men, -50kg and -55kg for women) were amalgamated into the Olympic categories of -67kg for men and -55kg for women.
The middle categories remained the same (-75 kg for men, -61 kg for women), while the extremes were combined (+75 kg for men, +61 kg for women): (-84 kg and +84 kg for men, -68 kg and +68 kg for women).
Kumite
A matting area 8 m (26 ft) on each side of the contestants is used for the competition. The time limit for each match is three minutes, unless one player finishes with more than eight points.
One player wins if he or she scores eight more points than their opponent, or if they score more points in the allocated three minutes. Whoever scores first breaks the tie. In the event of a draw, the five judges will choose the victor.
Scores might be anywhere from one to three.
- Ippon for 3 points
- 2 points for a waza-ari
- Give it to Yuko for one point.
There are two types of penalties. If 4 warnings are obtained in either category, the contestant is disqualified. Disqualification for malicious behaviour can occur with fewer than four warnings given to a competitor.
The Road to the Olympics
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided in August 2009 which two sports would be added to the 2016 Rio Games. Karate was a front-runner for the spot, but it went to golf and rugby instead. As a result of persistent lobbying, it will be one of five new sports included in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Karate’s admission was viewed as unlikely due to the presence of numerous other combat sports in the Olympics, such as boxing, judo, taekwondo, fencing, and wrestling.
