Azerbaijan, Turkey and France won two gold medals each on the first day of the men's and women's karate kumite finals at the European Games in Baku.
Home favourite Rafael Aghayev, deemed the 'Maradona of karate', won the gold medal in the men's 75kg kumite by beating Noah Bitsch of Germany in the semi-final before vanquishing Luigi Busa of Italy in the final.
Aghayev's compatriot, Firdovsi Farzaliyev, also collected gold in the men's 60kg kumite by beating Luca Maresca of Italy.
Emily Thouy of France won gold in the women's 55kg kumite as a yuko in the final second of the deciding match against Jelena Kovacevic gave her a 2-1 win.
Lucie Ignace then won the second gold medal for the French team in 61kg. She was handed a unanimous points decision after 1-1 after full time against Merve Coban of Turkey.
Meanwhile, Turkey's two gold medals came from Serap Ozcelik in the women's 50kg and Buruk Uygur in the men's 67kg.
Giuseppe Labellarte
