Karate Canada - Madrid, Spain, December 1st, 2019 – Over the weekend, Canadian National Team Roster members were in Spain for the Madrid Premier League K-1 competition, which was held from November 29th-December 1st. The Canadian delegation included eight athletes, accompanied by two coaches. A total of 772 athletes from 89 countries competed in this event. This weekend event saw two top-5 performances on the part of Canadian athletes, including one bronze medal.

In women’s kumite, Haya Jumaa (-61kg), of Ontario, won her first two matches before losing (by decision after a tied score) to eventual gold medallist (and world
# 1 ranked) Xiaoyan Yin of China. Jumaa then convincingly defeated both Ingrida Suchankova of Slovakia (8-0) and Diana Shostak of the Ukraine (3-0) to take the
bronze medal. Melissa Bratic (-68kg), also of Ontario, won her first four matches before losing to Irina Zaretska of Azerbaijan (#1 ranked in the world in this division)
in the semi-finals; Bratic then lost the bronze medal match to Halyna Melnyk of the Ukraine, finishing 5th.

The World Karate Federation's Premier League K1 Series are important preparation events on the road to the next summer Olympic Games. The next event for
Canadian karate athletes will be the Paris Premier League K1 taking place in January 2020

About Karate Canada:

Karate Canada is a not-for-profit corporation constituted under Part II of the Canada Corporations Act, with the objective of describing and incorporating all activities
related to the promotion, organization, regulation and popularization of the sport of karate all over Canada, of protecting the physical and emotional health of athletes, and of promoting the interests of karate throughout Canada. Karate Canada and its 10 member Provincial and Territorial Associations assemble roughly 16,000 participants nationwide.

Furthermore, Karate Canada is a proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, the World Karate Federation and the Pan American Karate Federation. See more at www.karatecanada.org. Karate Canada is funded in part by the government of Canada, via
its Ministry for Canadian Heritage.