Photo: Ukrainian Karate Federation / Facebook
The athlete celebrated his success emotionally with his coach.
Ukrainian karateka Andrii Zaplitnyi has reached the final of the 2025 World Championship, which is being held in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
The Ukrainian advanced to the semifinals in the 75 kg weight category, where he faced a “neutral” representative of Russia, Ernest Sharafutdinov, and secured a 6:3 victory. It is worth noting that Sharafutdinov has repeatedly liked posts on social media supporting the war and has visited occupied Crimea with his coach. Despite this, he was granted “neutral” status.
After his victory, the Ukrainian karateka celebrated very emotionally with his coach and wished “death to the enemies.” This success propelled the 24-year-old Zaplitnyi into the gold medal match, where he will face local karateka Abdalla Abdelaziz, the reigning world champion. The final will take place today, November 30.
Andrii has already secured at least a silver medal and the best result of his career, as his previous highest achievement was a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships.
