Eight years of training and silver at the World Championship: a young karateka from Latvia spoke about her victory

### Five victories and one step to gold Elizaveta Avrushkina represented Latvia at the World Karate Championship for cadets. She competed in the kumite discipline — sports matches against an opponent — in the weight category over 61 kilograms. On her way to the final, the Latvian athlete achieved five consecutive victories. In the decisive sixth match, she faced Serbian representative Nina Macura. This encounter turned out to be the most memorable for Elizaveta. After losing to the Serbian athlete, Avrushkina finished the tournament with a silver medal and the title of vice-champion of the world. > "I believed that one day I would succeed. It was only at the moment when they handed me the medal that I believed I had achieved what I had been fighting for over eight years," Elizaveta admitted. ### "Mom thought I liked dancing" Elizaveta's story in karate began thanks to her older brother. At first, he was the one attending training sessions, while the girl had to wait until the classes were over. At some point, she got tired of watching from the sidelines. Elizaveta told her mother that she also wanted to practice karate. However, her decision came as a surprise to the family. > "She was a bit shocked: a girl and karate — strange. She thought I liked to dance because I was a girl. I chose karate myself," the athlete recalls. This independent choice ultimately determined the next eight years of her life and led to a world championship medal. ### "She fights until the last second" The coach of the Nikko karate club, Andrey Zhaglov, said that even before the championship, the team had hopes for a medal. The results of Elizaveta in the qualifying competitions, where she repeatedly placed highly, provided grounds for optimism. However, the World Championship is a completely different level of competition. > "This is the main and most challenging tournament for our athletes," the coach emphasized. According to Zhaglov, one of Elizaveta's main qualities is her ability to continue fighting even in the most tense situations. > "She is one of those who fights until the very last moment. Of course, we reached the final with emotions and fear that it might not work out. Everything turned out as we planned," he said. ### Two medals for Latvia The World Championship in Poland brought two awards for Latvian karatekas. In addition to Elizaveta Avrushkina's silver, another representative of Latvia, Arina Nikonova, won a bronze medal. Thus, Latvian athletes managed to make it to the podium twice at the tournament, which featured representatives from 114 countries. For Elizaveta, the silver award became a confirmation that the dream she had been training for over eight years had indeed come true.