Karate heroism from Energetik
17 April 2008
Yuri Kaliapin, representing the 'Energetik' Club of Russia's Novovoronezh nuclear power plant, won the light weight final of the 2008 International Kyokushin Karate Open Championship, held in Szolnok, Hungary, on 5 April. He took part in four fights before being injured during the final against a Kazakh opponent. The referee wanted to stop the fight and award victory to the Kazakh fighter, but Kaliapin insisted on continuing. Eventually the fight ended in a draw, but could not be decided by the fighters' weights and so a tie-breaker involving breaking wooden boards was held. Kaliapin's rival broke 14 boards before the nuclear worker summoned the power to break 15 and take the title. The competition was a preparatory stage for the 4th World Championships to be held in St Petersburg, Russia, next year.