Nguyễn Thị Diệu Ly (right) and her coach at the World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships. Ly will defend her 53kg title at this year tournament in Italy. Photo webthethao.vn

HÀ NỘI — The most promising karate competitors in Việt Nam will take on international rivals this week in Italy to clash for gold at the highly anticipated 2024 World Junior, Cadet and U21 Championships.

The future stars will be crowned after the tournament takes place at the Palazzo del Turismo in Lido de Jesolo, Venice from October 9 to 13.

The championships are the sport's most important event for this age group, and are held every two years.

This year, nearly 2,000 karatekas from 113 countries have registered to participate in the event's kata (performance) and kumite (combat) for men's and women's individual and team categories. This is a record-breaking number of participants, exceeding the number of competitors in previous editions.

In Venice, the powerhouse nations of Brazil and Turkey will introduce the largest delegations, with 42 martial artists each.

Egypt, the US, Spain and hosts Italy will also bring a large number of competitors with 41 athletes.

Việt Nam have registered 10 fighters, including defending champion Nguyễn Thị Diệu Ly, Chu Văn Đức and Hoàng Thị Thu Uyên, who are all expected to take a place at the podium.

The Vietnamese coaching board said the martial artists are in good condition and are showing high spirits ahead of the tournament.

They promised to do their best to win gold.

The competition in Venice follows a knock-out format. Eliminations will be held from October 9 to 11, while the bronze medal bouts and finals are scheduled for October 12-13.

Last year's event was held in 2022 in Konya, Turkey. Powerhouse Japan topped the medal table during the competition, with 13 medals including 10 golds. Turkey and Egypt also showed successful performances with 12 medals each.

Việt Nam's talented Ly won gold in the women's 53kg kumite event.

The 20-year-old has just claimed an Asian championship women's team title. — VNS