Nepali karate player Erika Gurung has won a bronze medal in the prestigious competition Karate One Premier League. Himalayan Warrior Erica achieved this success in the women's 68 kg weight group in the Premier League in Rawat, the capital of Morocco, on Sunday night. In the bronze medal competition, Erica defeated the French player Clemens Pei by 6-2 points.
After losing to Spain's Maria Garcia Torres, she reached the bronze medal match. After playing a 5-5 draw with Maria, Erica was defeated based on sensu. Then she reached the bronze medal.
Erika, who has been achieving a historic achievement for Nepali Karate, has won a medal in her first participation in the Premier League, only among the world's top players.
Erika was ranked 6th in the group stage . She advanced by staying at the top of the pole with players from Turkey, Italy and Cyprus . In the
knockout stage, Erika defeated Egypt's Mahgoub Hadi 8–2 to reach the semi-finals, where she lost sensu to Spain's Maria . Moriah defeated England's Rochelle Walters 4-2 to win the gold in that weight.
Erica was the only participant from Nepal in this premier league. She went straight to Rawat to play in the Premier League after playing the 21st Asian Senior Karate Championship in Tajkand, Uzbekistan. Erica, who won silver in the 20th edition of the Asian Championship, was without a medal this year. The medal won in Morocco is the second for Erika in the
karate league. Earlier in February, Erica won a silver medal at the Karate Youth League K-1 in the UAE. She had success against players from India, Kazakhstan and Turkey at Youth Lima in Fujairah, UAE.
During the last two years, Erika has brought historic medals to Nepali Karate. After winning the silver medal in the 19th Asian Games, Dhading's athlete Erica became the star of Nepali karate, along with silver in the Asian Championship, gold in the 10th World Sitorio Karate Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia, gold and silver in the US Open Karate Championship in Texas, and gold in the 8th South Asian Karate Championship in Thimphu, Bhutan, gold in the Australian Open, gold in the 16th APSKF Karate Championship in Singapore. She won the gold medal.
