She made it through to tomorrow's over 68 kilograms kumite final at Sporthalle Brandberge in Halle.

Uekusa sealed her place in the final with a comfortable 2-0 win over Anastasiya Stepashko of Ukraine in the semi-finals this evening.

Awaiting her in tomorrow's showdown will be Mengmeng Gao of China after she defeated Canadian Camelie Boisvenue 2-0.

Another reigning world champion, Austria's Alisa Buchinger, did not enjoy the same delight as Uekusa.

She failed to progress to the final of the under 61kg event after falling short in the last four.

Buchinger, who won a memorable world title on home soil in Linz last year, was beaten in the semi-finals by Thi Ngoan Nguyen of Vietnam 2-0.

Haya Jumaa of Canada is also through after she defeated Japan's Misa Iwato 7-0 in the other semi-final.

In men's competition, Jonathan Horne delighted the German crowd by advancing to the final of the over 84kg event.

The home favourite defeated Daniel Gaysinsky of Canada 2-0 in the semi-finals.

Awaiting him in tomorrow's final will be Georgian Gogita Arkania as he proved too strong for Frenchman Lonni Boulesnane, winning 2-1.

Uzbekistan's Dastonbek Otabolaev is also one win away from a title as he moved into the final of the under 75kg event.

He was awarded the semi-final against Turkey's Fatih Sen on a judges' decision following a 0-0 draw.

Otabolaev will face Italian Luigi Busa in the final as he won his last four encounter against Stanislav Horuna of Ukraine 1-0.

The Karate 1-Premier League campaign will conclude tomorrow with a busy day of finals.