Venla Karttunen took second place in the high-level karate ranking tournament in Portugal.
A karateka from Pori Venla Karttunen reached the finals of the Serie A tournament held in Matosinhos, Portugal. It is the first time that a Finn reaches the final at the Serie A level.
In the final, Karttunen suffered a narrow 0–1 loss to the German For Mia Bitschwho received a decisive penalty from the judges just 20 seconds before full time.
– Both were looking for a hitting point at the same time. I thought for a moment that the point would go to me, but the judges saw the situation differently, Karttunen explained the decision over the phone.
Bitsch is a multiple youth World Cup and European Championship medalist, for whom the victory in the Serie A competition was the second of his career. The Finn’s starting points for the final were not favorable.
– The right inner toe has an old injury. On Saturday, it somehow fell under the weight in the middle of the match. On the inside, all the ligaments are probably torn or severed, when the toe is now just a black ball.
According to Karttunen, the injury came in Saturday’s semifinal.
– I went on painkillers, and the toe was taped to the adjacent toe for the duration of the final. And then when you just bounce enough, the pain becomes numb and you don’t feel anything, Karttunen estimates.
The most Finnish achievement in recent years
Serie A is the second hardest competition series in karate after the K1 class. Finland has three karatekas in K1, Titta Keinänen, Björn Kulovuori and Niko Manterebut success has surrounded Finns this decade.
Head coach of the Karate Association Mika Virkkunen made Karttusen’s final place the Finnish karate act of the current decade.
– Yes, this is the biggest achievement since the Titan EC bronze (2019), Virkkunen beamed over the phone.
Virkkunen estimates that Karttusen has a realistic chance to rise to the K1 level already next year.
The place in the final was important for Karttus, because the karate competition system will change next year. At that time, countries can no longer send athletes in the old style with quota places, but the athletes get to the Games through ranking.
In Karttusen’s weight class, i.e. under 55 kilograms, only 36 competitors can enter the games with this information. The points of the Portuguese race will raise the shares of the World Cup player from Pori significantly.
On the road
Venla Karttunen and his father Janne Karttunen is known in karate circles as a duo who is ready to travel almost a thousand kilometers for individual exercises. In recent years, Karttunen has cooperated with the high-level Swedish national team.
– When this kind of success has not happened before, and we have invested so much in this with my father, it feels good for both of us that we finally get a reward for the work of the past years.
The student from Pori, who is studying to become a nurse, does not have time to celebrate his place in the finals, let alone rest on his laurels.
– There is so much school work that maybe I will wash the clothes at home. Next weekend we will go to Sweden again for a camp to look for development, Karttunen said.