Astana karate practitioners get ready for Tokyo Olympics

"We set grandiose goals. We will work hard. Those athletes who will train for the Tokyo Olympics will have their own program of training, tournaments and training camps. We will soon find out in what licensing tournaments they will have to participate in order to earn Olympic licenses," Ms Dukuyeva said.

In her words, about 600 young athletes practice karate in Astana.

"Astana was represented by Kabdullayev brothers at the Asian championship this year. They demonstrated great results as the elder brother Alisher won the third place in the Kumite event. We set high hopes on both brothers. We also have a couple of other promising karate practitioners. But, in order to hone their skills, they need experience and financing. We see great potential in them," Dukuyeva noted.

It should be noted that a seminar dedicated to karate's inclusion into the program of the Tokyo Olympics and 25 years of Kazakhstan's Independence was held at the Palace of Schoolchildren in Astana on Sunday. Attending the event was USSR Master of Sport and head coach of the Russian National Karate Team (1996-2001) Oleg Tsoi.