Sunday 01 / February / 2026
Muscat: Qatar’s Tawar Club emerged as overall champions at the 11th Shotokan Karate Centre Open Championship, staged as part of the Muscat Nights Festival, while hosts Shotokan Karate Centre delivered a strong showing to finish runners-up at Ahli Sidab Sports Hall in Darsait on Saturday.
The two-day championship crackled with intensity, bringing together 400 male and female athletes from 10 countries, representing 24 clubs and academies.
Competitors went head-to-head in kata and kumite (sparring) across a wide range of age and weight categories, producing action-packed contests and high technical standards throughout.
The closing ceremony and awards presentation were held under the patronage of Dr Faisal Al Maawali, Chairman of the Oman Karate Committee, who crowned the champions and honoured the top-performing clubs and academies after the final bouts.
Tawar Club topped the overall standings with an outstanding haul of 49 medals - 26 gold, 15 silver and 8 bronze - earning the championship trophy along with a cash prize of OMR 1,000.
Hosts Shotokan Karate Centre finished second overall, amassing 99 medals (13 gold, 18 silver and 68 bronze) to claim the runners-up trophy and OMR 750.
The Champ Sports & Arts secured third place with 35 medals (13 gold, 6 silver and 16 bronze), while Emperor Club was placed fourth with 20 medals (8 gold, 6 silver and 6 bronze).
The final day featured a series of compelling bouts across youth and senior divisions. In the men’s over-30 kata, Yasseen Al Lawati of Karate Champions Club clinched gold, ahead of Asaad Al Amri in second and Talal Al Marhoubi in third.
Men’s over-30 kumite saw Hamza Al Kaabi of Al Qudra Club take top honours, with Asad Al Amri finishing second, while Yassin Al Lawati and Talal Al Marhoubi shared bronze.
In the under-30 kumite (-65kg), Idrees Al Batrani of Karate Champions Club claimed gold, followed by Nooh Salman in silver, with Mohammed Arif and Muheeb Al Masrouri taking joint bronze.
Under-30 kata honours went to Jishnu Balachandran, with Mohammed Arif second and Mohammed Mahdi and Hussein Surour sharing third. In the cadet kata division, Mahmoud Osama of Emperor Club secured first place, while Mohammed Hossam finished second.
