More than 1,500 athletes will take part in this week's Karate 1-Series A event in Salzburg ©Getty Images

The Austrian city of Salzburg is set to host one of the largest karate events of the year from tomorrow when it welcomes more than 1,500 athletes from 88 countries to the latest edition of the Karate 1-Series A.

The scale of this World Karate Federation event - which will be held at the Sporthalle Alpenstrasse until March 4 - is illustrated by the fact that in the male kata category alone more than 200 competitors will be contesting gold.

The most attended event of 2017 was the Karate 1-Premier League leg in Paris with 1,235 athletes from 75 countries.

Nearly 1,200 karatekas from 75 nations travelled to Salzburg last year to participate in this event.

This week's Karate 1-Series A event in Salzburg has attracted a record entry of more than 1,500 athletes from 88 countries ©Getty Images
This week's Karate 1-Series A event in Salzburg has attracted a record entry of more than 1,500 athletes from 88 countries ©Getty Images

World champions Kiyou Shimizu of Japan, in women's kata, and Jordan Thomas of England, in men's under-67 kilograms kumite, are expected to impress.

Grand winners Sadriddin Saymatov of Uzbekistan, at under-60kg, and Stanislav Horuna of Ukraine, at under-75kg, could also leave their mark in Austria.

But there will be expectations for unfancied athletes also following the shock results that occurred at the last 2018 Karate 1-Series A event in Guadalajara last month.

France and Japan dominated the competition in Salzburg last year, with three golds and nine medals, and three golds and ten medals respectively.