Today at 11:49
One young Ukrainian athlete is quickly climbing the world rankings on his way towards the ultimate goal of fighting in the Olympics.
Andriy Toroshanko, 20, has been doing karate since he was 6. Last year he took third place at the youth world championship. This year he will compete in the adult category. In March, the young Ukrainian won the “Karate A” event in Salzburg.
“We entered this year ranked somewhere in the 80s out of 100. Now, in yesterday’s updated ranking Andriy is 17th. Within one year that’s an excellent leap forward, it’s unbelievable,” Toroshanko’s Karate Coach Mykola Syrakovskyi said.
As with most athletes, Toroshanko’s ultimate goal is to compete at the Olympic Games. This goal is hard to reach, only 10 athletes from across the world qualify in each weight category.
“Four of them are selected by rating, that’s the new rating that launched in September. Four more will qualify through the tournament, which this year will take place in Paris before the Olympics. Those who take top positions in it will be at the Olympics. One more place is reserved for a Japanese participant because the Olympics will take place in Japan, and another wild card spot will be given to an athlete from a continent that is not represented by other participants. Everyone has equal chances because we’re all starting from zero,” Toroshanko said.
Toroshanko successfully combines his passion for karate with his studies at the Kyiv College of Communication, where he’s working towards a bachelors degree in telecommunications and mobile systems, a specialty that runs in the family.
After the upcoming “Karate1” event in Tokyo, he will prepare for the world championship taking place in Madrid in November. He is hoping to become one of the world’s best in the run-up to the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.
