Khaberni - The national karate team player, Afif Gaith, on Saturday, qualified for the final of the World Karate Championship held in Cairo with the participation of 384 competitors from 67 countries.
Afif Gaith succeeded in becoming the first Jordanian player to qualify for the final of the individual kumite competition in the history of the World Karate Championships, which first began in 1970.
Meanwhile, the player Mohamed Al-Jaafari moved to compete for the bronze medal after losing in the semifinal round.
The gold and bronze medal bouts will be held tomorrow, Sunday, at the conclusion of the championship.
Afif Gaith began his participation in the World Championship in the under 67 kg category on Thursday, topping his group with three victories against Rwandan Ntwari Fiston, 7-0, Frenchman Younes Salmi, 2-1, and Guatemalan Carlos Jose Chacon, 5-4.
Afif Gaith continued his victories, winning in the round of 16 against Serbian Stefan Yoksic, 3-0, and in the quarterfinals defeated Greek Georgios Paliotis.
In the final, Afif Gaith won against Uzbek player Abdul Rashidov, 6-0, to qualify for the final, where he will meet Moroccan Said Abaya tomorrow, Sunday.
On his part, Mohamed Al-Jaafari opened his participation in the World Championship under 84 kg category yesterday, Friday, where he finished second in his group in the first round, winning against Senegalese Mokhtar Diop, 8-0, and English Patrick Ashton, 7-3, and lost on superiority after a 3-3 tie with Croatian Ivan Kvězitch.
In the round of 16, Mohamed Al-Jaafari, ranked first in the world, defeated Japanese Rikuto Shimada, 9-7, before winning the quarterfinal against player Edward Gasparian, 5-3.
In the semifinal round, Al-Jaafari lost to Egyptian player Youssef Badawy on superiority after a 4-4 tie, moving him to compete for the bronze medal, which he had previously won in the last edition of the championship.
