Azerbaijan’s Rafael Aghayev will be attempting to regain his WKF Karate World Championships title this week in the Austrian city of Linz ©Getty Images

Azerbaijan’s Rafael Aghayev will be attempting to regain his Karate World Championship title this week in the Austrian city of Linz as he makes his anticipated return to the event he missed two years ago.

Aghayev, who has previously won four titles at the sport's flagship event, will be competing in the under-75 kilograms competition at the first major karate event since the sport's confirmed inclusion at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The 10-time European champion claimed the gold medal in the under-75kg competition eight years ago in Belgrade and was also victorious in both 2004 and 2006.

However, he was unable to continue his dominance in his last World Championships appearance, in Paris in 2010, where he could only manage silver.

After an absence from the last edition of the championships, Aghayev will be making his return to the event, seeking a fifth gold medal.

Elsewhere in the competition, Egypt’s Giana Lotfy is the definitive favourite in the women’s under-61kg event.

Lotfy has not lost a bout for two years and has won on each of her last seven appearances in major international competitions.

The Egyptian last suffered defeat in October 2014 during the Mediterranean Games in Montenegro where she went on to claim the silver medal.

Elsewhere in the competition Egypt’s Giana Lotfy (left) is the definitive favourite in the women’s under-61kg event ©Getty Images
Elsewhere in the competition Egypt’s Giana Lotfy (left) is the definitive favourite in the women’s under-61kg event ©Getty Images

Perhaps the most open tournament of the competition is the men’s under-67kg event.

The current top three in the world rankings in this weight category are all within 1000 points of each other.

The absence of current world champion, France’s William Rolle, coupled with the fact that nobody has won this event more than once on the Karate Premier League circuit this season, suggests it is a wide-open competition.

The favourite is Brazil’s Vinicius Rezende Figueira who currently tops the world rankings and was the bronze medallist two years ago.

Egypt’s Madgy Hanafy, the 2014 silver medallist, is also a contender along with Switzerland’s Kujtim Bajrami.

Reigning European champion, Steven Dacosta of France, will also be a threat.

Competition this week is taking place across a number of weight categories in kata, kumite and Para-kata disciplines.

The event officially begins this evening with the Opening Ceremony before action here at the Tips Arena begins tomorrow morning at 9am local time.