Damián Quintero, in full competition. /
Tokyo 2020 | Karate
First of his group, he goes directly to the final, where he will face the Japanese Ryo Kiyuna
As Sandra Sánchez, the first Olympic gold medalist in karate, did yesterday, Spanish karate fighter Damián Quintero qualified for the final in the men’s kata modality this Friday. Faced with fighting (kumite), this specialty consists of exhibitions of attacks and defenses where the judges value the perfection, strength and beauty of the movements.
After passing the first two elimination rounds in first place, Quintero also led his qualifying group with 27.28 points, ahead of American Ariel Torres (26.44) and South Korean Park Hee-jun. As the first of this group A, he will face directly in the final with the leader of group B. And, as happened yesterday with Sandra Sánchez, his opponent will also be from Japan, the country where karate was born. Specifically, it will be Ryo Kiyuna, who obtained a somewhat higher score: 28.72 points. Both will face each other for gold, so Quintero already has another medal assured for Spain. The duel will be at the legendary Tokyo Budokan, temple of martial arts, at 7:50 p.m. (12:50 p.m., Spanish peninsular time).
They will play it all to a kata, which they must choose from among the 102 recognized by the World Karate Federation. As in gymnastics, the jury will determine their performance based on a scoring criterion that assesses the strength, speed, balance and power of the punches and kicks, as well as the execution of the movements and, on a more subjective level, the beauty of the technique.
Damián Quintero, 37, was born in Argentina and moved to Spain with his family as a child. Settled on the Costa del Sol, he began practicing karate at the Gju Ryu club in Torremolinos (Malaga). After a career full of successes and world and European medals, that naughty boy who needed the discipline of martial arts is today one of the main figures of karate. Number one in the ranks and world champion, he accumulates 22 continental medals in his record: ten gold (six individual and 4 with the team), nine silver and three bronze. But, like Sandra Sánchez, she is missing the Olympian because this sport had never been part of the Games officially. In his debut in Japan, where karate emerged on the island of Okinawa during the Ryukyu Reign (15th-19th centuries), Damián Quintero aspires to another historical medal.
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