Mohammad Aljafari Reclaims Grand Winner Title with Gold in Rabat: “This is the second Grand Winner for me, and this feeling is really, very beautiful.”

Jordan’s Mohammad Aljafari is once again the Grand Winner in Male Kumite -84kg after claiming gold at the Karate One Premier League Rabat 2026. The 22-year-old recovered the prestigious award that he last won in 2023, completing a remarkable season that included bronze in Istanbul and gold medals in Leshan and Rabat.

Ranked number two in the world, Aljafari arrived in Rabat knowing that only a gold medal would secure the Grand Winner title. He delivered under pressure and finished the season in the best possible way.

“I’m very happy today to get a gold medal at Karate One Premier League. This is the second gold medal for me this season,” Aljafari said.

Aljafari started his campaign by topping his pool. He recorded a convincing 11-4 victory over Haruya Toyoda of Japan before defeating Matteo Fiore of Italy 5-3. In the quarterfinals, he dominated Mehdi Sriti of Morocco 8-0 and then advanced to the final with an 8-2 win against Konstantinos Mastrogiannis of Greece.

The gold medal match brought together two of the division’s leading athletes as Aljafari faced Youssef Badawy of Egypt. In one of the classic rivalries of international karate, the Jordanian prevailed 5-3 to secure both the title and the Grand Winner award.

“This match, as you know, is a beautiful game, like classical, with Youssef Badawy and me. We are both good athletes. And whoever is better prepared will win. So today maybe my preparation was better than his, and I won,” he added

The Jordanian also highlighted the significance of the achievement of recovering the Grand Winner title after three years.

“I’m very, very happy today for getting the Grand Winner. This is the second Grand Winner for me, and this feeling is really, really very, very beautiful. This competition was very difficult and in order to get the Grand Winner, I had to win the gold medal to take it. Finally, I got the gold medal, and I took the Grand Winner in the end,” he stated.

The quest for the Grand Winner title was decided by the smallest of margins. Aljafari finished only 30 points ahead of Eduard Gasparian of WKF-1 in the final standings. Following an administrative miscalculation in the points tally, Gasparian was mistakenly informed that he held the top position. The error was identified and corrected shortly afterwards, with apologies extended for the misunderstanding.

With his victory in Rabat, Aljafari closes the season as Grand Winner, reaffirming his place among the leading athletes in the world.