Hamza Iqbal Raja took home the bronze medal in Birmingham’s 10th Commonwealth Karate Championship.
Hamza was a contestant in the men’s -84 category, and he is from Azad Kashmir.
He began his path to bronze by defeating Vivek Teja Cherupalli of India in the opening round. With an 8-0 score, the Pakistani Karateka easily defeated his Indian opponent.
Hamza, however, lost to England’s Joe Kellaway 7-2 in the quarterfinal round.
After losing in the quarterfinals, Hamza’s chances of earning a medal were still in play, thus he competed in the repechage round.
He won 11-5 over Nathan Preece of Wales to go to the bronze-medal match against Demetris Demetriades of Cyprus.
The Pakistani Karateka excelled in the medal competition. The young Pakistani athlete won the competition with a score of 8-5, but the Cypriot karateka also showed some of the best techniques.
Saadi Abbas, the other Karateka representing Pakistan in the competition, came in fifth place despite not being at his best.
Saadi, who received a bye in the first round, lost to Australia’s Mithcell Durham 5-3 in the quarterfinal. He was able to defeat Canada’s Nicholas Patrick in his first repechage round 4-0, but India’s Aman Kumar defeated him 4-1 in the bronze medal match.
