Ingrida Suchankova of Slovakia will be aiming to win her third gold medal of the year following her victories in Fortaleza and Rabat ©Getty Images

The Karate1 Premier League season reaches its climax this weekend with the final event of the year in Okinawa, Japan.

Karatekas from more than 30 countries have travelled to the sport's birthplace to compete for the final golds of the season.

After nine tournaments throughout the last ten months, across four continents, the final champions of the Karate1 Premier League will be crowned in Okinawa ahead of next month's World Championships in Linz, Austria.

Italian star Sara Cardin is one of the many top athletes in action in Japan this weekend, with competition beginning tomorrow. 

The current World and European champion is the favourite in the kumite under-55kg category, as the world number one attempts to bounce back from failing to qualify for the finals at the Premier League event last weekend in Hamburg.

Another big name in action is Slovakia's Ingrida Suchankova, who is aiming to win her third gold medal of the year, following victories in Fortaleza and Rabat in the kumite under-61kg division.

The Slovakian will have to overcome local promising karateka and current world junior, cadet and under-21 silver medallist Ayami Moriguchi. 

Japan’s Ryo Kiyuna, the defending world champion, will be in action in Okinawa ©Getty Images
Japan’s Ryo Kiyuna, the defending world champion, will be in action in Okinawa ©Getty Images

In the men’s competitions, the kata tournament will likely be one of the highlights of the action.

Japan’s Ryo Kiyuna, the defending world champion who will be attempting to retain his title in Austria next month, will be competing in his second Premier League meeting of the season following his gold medal in Paris.

While Kiyuna is the favourite in the tournament, nearly 80 athletes in the category will try to upset the odds in a fiercely competitive event.

The competition in Okinawa will also represent a chance to see young and talented future stars of the sport.

One of those is world junior, cadet and under-21 gold medallist Tareg Hamedi of Saudi Arabia in the men's kumite over 84kg tournament, and local emerging talents such as Ugai Mizuki in the female kata event and Soichiro Nakano in the men's kumite under 68kg competition. 

Hosts Japan will be attempting to improve on their medal tally from this event last year, where they dominated the tournament, winning 26 medals including nine golds.