Oceanside man wins World Karate Championship

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Adham Sabri has won the first KaratePRO tournament held in the United States. All of the competitors were former world champions or champions in their home countries, selected and invited to the tournament, which was held on Sept. 17 in Las Vegas. He was the only athlete chosen to compete from the U.S. The competition was held as part of the Mr. Olympia Festival as a featured sporting event.

Sabri lives in Oceanside and trains at the Adel International Karate School on Long Beach Road in Oceanside. His teacher and coach, Adel Elbehiry explained that the competitors for this championship were hand-selected from all over the world. “They pick you based on your accomplishments” Elbehiry said. “Sabri holds 10 gold medals, and the U.S. National Championship from last July, a gold medals from the Premier League in 2015 in Egypt, and the World Continent in Spain in 2015.”

It takes intense training Elbehiry explained, much like boxing. “Training involves endurance,” he said. “Usually each match is three minutes. For this contest there were three rounds of three minutes each.” Elbehiry thanked the people who helped and supported Sabri; including Scott Alberlla, a U.S. team member, from Rockville Centre one of several members at the school.

Sabri was facing seven opponents that were the best in their countries. “So it was truly a world championship, Sabri is a champion of champions,” Elbehiry said. For winning the championship Sabri received the most money ever for a Karate athlete, $15,000.

Sabri trains twice a day. “Mornings I do conditioning gym and track,” he said. “In the afternoon I train Karate. I eat healthy food, take vitamins and have protein, and because I use so much energy I have a lot of fruit. When I am not training teach at the school.”

In the future Sabri wants to go to the Olympics. “Karate is now an Olympic sport,” he said. “It is a different kind of training, a program, very technical. I would have to train in that program for two or three years.” However Sabri noted most of the other Olympic competitors are already in their late 20’s.

The International Olympic Committee unanimously approved the decision to include Karate in the 2020 Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo, Japan. The decision is the result of the 129th International Olympic Committee session held August 3, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The 23-year-old Sabri began training in Karate at the age of 6 or 7, in his native Egypt. His parents, who live in Alexandria, have always been supportive, but have not come here to see him fight…yet. Sabri plans to stay in the U.S. and thinks his parents will come to see him soon.