Elena Quirici: It was a really tough competition for me

The current Grand Winner of Female Kumite -68kg claimed her first gold medal of the season at the Karate 1-Premier League and delivered a strong performance to take the top spot on the podium at the event held in the Egyptian capital.

“It was a really tough competition for me. The final was an intense clash all the time, but not only the final but also the round-robin, the quarter-final, and the semi-final were challenging. So I’m so happy to come away with the gold medal,” she said.

In the final, the three-time continental champion faced Morocco’s Nisrine Brouk in a high-scoring match. Both athletes traded points, but it was the Swiss star, currently ranked number 2 in the WKF World Ranking, who pulled ahead, winning 9-4.

LEARNING FROM MISTAKES

"I did some stupid mistakes, many stupid mistakes," Quirici admitted. “But in the end, it was good that I did them so I could learn from them. If I can still win a gold medal after making some mistakes, then I’m happy.”

Before reaching the final, Quirici defeated Egypt’s Hadir Hendy 1-0 in a tense semifinal and edged past Germany’s Hannah Riedel 4-3 in the quarter-finals. Earlier in the pool phase, she secured victories over Bonu Egamberdieva of Uzbekistan and Anita Makyan of Armenia, while drawing against Wiktoria Grejner of Poland.

BRINGING MEDALS HOME

The 31-year-old karateka also shared insight into what keeps her motivated after years of competing at the top level:

“I just really love what I’m doing. I think without this joy, I wouldn’t still be here. I’m 31 years old. For so many, many years, I have taken medals, so I think without this joy, I couldn’t do it. This is my motivation. I just want to enjoy doing what I do. I love what I do, and I want to bring home medals to the kids from my club.”

Looking ahead, Quirici remains energised about the rest of the season:

“We have the European Championship, and we will see what happens (in the final Karate 1-Premier League event) in Rabat. I’m excited and full of energy.”

Elena Quirici’s victory in Cairo puts her back in the race for the coveted Grand Winner title as the Karate 1-Premier League season will conclude in Rabat (Morocco) from May 30 to June 1.