Morocco’s Btissam Sadini Wins Gold in French Open, Qualifies for Olympics

Moroccan karateka Btissam Sadini won the gold medal in the category of Kumite -61kg on June 12 during the French open which took place June 11-13 at the Pierre-de-Coubertin stadium in Paris.

Rabat – Moroccan karateka Btissam Sadini won the gold medal in the category of Kumite -61kg on June 12 during the French open which took place June 11-13 at the Pierre-de-Coubertin stadium in Paris. With this win, Sadini stamped her ticket for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The 2020 French Open was Initially scheduled for May at the AccorHotels Arena, before being postponed to last week due to the spread of the COVID-19.

Sadini surprised observers when she outclassed Ukraine’s Anita Serogina, the gold medal winner in the 2019 European Games, and Venezuela’s Claudymar Garces, the 2019 Pan American Games silver medallist and 2018 U21 continental champion.

“I am extremely happy, and I just want to thank my parents and my coach because they gave me the strength to win this tournament. This event is extremely important for Karate and I would also like to thank the president of the Morocco Karate Federation for his efforts to help me be here,” the Moroccan athlete told the website of the World Karate Federation (WKF).

Thanks to this win, Btissam Sadini became the first Moroccan karateka in history to qualify for the Olympics.

Eight Moroccan athletes participated in the tournament but only Sadini managed to make an impression. Due to her performance, she is now a candidate for an Olympic medal in Japan.

The French Karate Federation (FFK), the WKF, and the French Ministry of Sports organized the tournament which saw 494 athletes from 98 countries competing for the last 24 tickets for Tokyo.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will mark the debut appearance of Karate at the Olympics. Initially scheduled for the 2020 summer, this year’s Olympic games are expected to be held from 23 July to 8 August.