Dejan Nedev, Macedonia's Most Successful Karateka: Young Competitors Want to Fight Me to Prove Skills Dejan Nedev, Photo: Radovan Vujovic
 Macedonia’s most successful karate competitor, Dejan Nedev won two gold medals at the 32nd European Karate Championship, held in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. He achieved his biggest success in his career which is over 2 decades long, and has managed to win trophies in the disciplines kumite techniques and kata.

Alongside, other Macedonian competitors won medals, which resulted in the total number amount to 7 gold trophies, 2 silver, and 3 bronze trophies for our competitors.

“This is a historic success for traditional karate. We won so many medals and it is very significant. I have managed to achieve a great result by winning a gold medal in kumite and kata. This is a result of experience. I have been in karate for a very long time. I have been an active competitor for almost 25 years, so these victories come as a result of years of hard work,” said Dejan Nedev, who despite being active for so long, plans on keeping busy in the future.

Nedev won 2 gold medals in two different disciplines. In the kumite discipline he faced opponents from different countries, but in the discipline of katas he fought himself and succeeded in performing all necessary elements.

“Katas are very specific. Every element must be executed to perfection. Every move is followed, and there cannot be an error. Combats are different, however, one cannot be too relaxed. You never know what opponent you will be facing. Traditional karate has no categories, everybody is equal. An opponent may be 20kg heavier or lighter.

Nedev did not single out a name of a karate competitor that is his favorite, still, he remembered that in the previous years there have been some that have been his idols and some he wanted to combat, to show quality.

 

“There were competitors at the previous championships that have been my idols and it gave me motif. I wanted to face them. They are no longer active, but I think I was in a situation where I was idol one of the new guys that I faced. When they fought me they did it with a special spark,” he said.

Karate has finally gotten a status of Olympic sport and it will have its debut at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. This is a chance for many Macedonian karate competitors to qualify at the games.

“A huge wrong has been made right. It has finally been allowed the karate to be included in the Olympics. Karate is one of the most massive sports, there is not a country that does not have a huge number of competitors. There is still time until the Games in Tokyo, but if my health serves me well, I would like to be part of the team. If not as a competitor, then as part for the delegation,” Nedev added.

 

This is a sport lots of children decide on since early ages.

Karate is a sport that requires a child to start training early, at the age of 6 or 7. Macedonia has shown great interest for this sport. Our center has some 350 kids that learn the techniques. We also have a new center where there are 200 more kids that are trained, which only means karate will continue to give great results in the future,” said Dejan Nedev in the interview for Telegraf.mk.