Alisha Choudhary created history by giving India its first-ever medal in the Karate 1 Series A event. The Karate player won a bronze medal on the second day of the Women’s Kumite event in the 55 kg category held at Tbilisi, Georgia. She defeated her Croatian opponent after sealing a dominant 8-0 win. The Karate 1 Series A event is one of the recognized international competitions as part of the World Karate Federation (WKF).
Earlier in the 2025 Asian Senior Championship, Alisha bagged a bronze medal and has been consistent in her performance in the global events. Crediting her achievement, she was awarded a cash prize worth ₹1,51,000 by the Karate India Organisation. Her international career achievements include two gold medals in the Commonwealth Games and two in South Asian level tournaments.
She has represented India two times in the World Karate and has won six gold medals for the nation, including four straight golds won at the All-India University Games.
Iran’s Fatemehzahra Saeidabadi bagged the gold medal title in the Female Kumite 55 kg finals, after defeating Azerbaijan’s Madina Sadigova in a clean sweep victory by 8-0. Saeidabadi earned early points and was successful in restricting Sadigova.
Female winners of Karate Series A 2026 events
Day 1 of the Karate 1 Series A event started on Friday, January 9, 2026, that saw top karate athletes giving thrilling performances with intense action. Japan and Iran succeeded with gold medals on the first day. Japan’s Hisami Nakaji won gold in Female Kata by 5-0. Iran’s Salehi Lalehmarzi Hananeh took gold in the Female Kumite +68 kg category.
The second event also saw another strong performance from female karateka including India’s Alisha securing the bronze in the Kumite 55 kg event and Iran’s Saeidabadi taking the gold. In the Kumite 50 kg, England’s Niamh Lilly got the title in a tight contest against Turkey’s Hira Nur Temizel. The same day, Egypt won the female team kata title after defeating Japan by 3-2.
Meanwhile, the third and final day was a thrilling event, and the karateka’s finished off in style. On Sunday, January 11, Iran, Egypt, and WKF-1 made podium finishes with a total of four gold medals won. Iran’s Mehrnegar Ahmadi won gold in the 61 kg category in a comfortable win over Japan’s Mana Sawaki by 7-3. Aleksandra Meshkova dominates WKF-1 flag finals after defeating Serbia’s Tamara Zivkovic in the 68 kg division by a score of 6-2.
The 2026 Karate 1 Series A event was a successful event of the season opener, setting the stage and highlighting the growing karate talents across the world.
