The three-day Balkan Karate Championship for seniors and veterans concluded today in Banja Luka. On the final day of competition, team events in kata and kumite were on the program, and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team won three medals—one silver and two bronze.
The silver medal was claimed by the women’s kumite team, while bronze medals went to the men’s kumite team and the women’s kata team. Bosnia and Herzegovina thus finished the championship with a total of 19 medals, including five golds.
Within the BiH team, 29 karateka from Republika Srpska competed. One of them, Selena Lekanić, won silver yesterday in the +68 kg category and today was part of the women’s team that also secured silver in team kumite.
“I am very satisfied—this is my first major competition in the senior category. Yesterday I fought three excellent bouts; in the semifinal I defeated Lucija Lesjak, who is among the world’s top 30. In the final, my opponent was Nikolina Golomboš, one of the best in Europe in this category. Today we won silver as a team; Serbia was better in the final, deservedly,” Lekanić said.
In addition to Lekanić from Višegrad, Marina Kurteš from East Sarajevo was also part of the BiH team.
It should also be noted that the BiH women’s kata team consists of athletes from Karate Club Nipon. The technical organizer of the championship was the Karate Federation of Republika Srpska. Over the three days, more than 400 karateka from 11 countries competed at the event.
Source: RTRS
