Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Karate - Women's Individual Kata - Ranking Round - Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan - August 5, 2021. Kiyou Shimizu of Japan competes. REUTERS/Carl Recine
TOKYO (Reuters) - The women's solo "kata" competition kicked off karate's first foray into the Olympics on Thursday with the 10 karateka performing routines in a hushed, spectator-less Nippon Budokan arena, the spiritual home of Japanese martial arts in Tokyo.
At the conclusion of the elimination rounds, it seemed clear the contest for the gold medal would be - as widely expected - between Japan's Kiyou Shimizu and Spain's Sandra Sanchez.
