Tara Murray
Alessandra D’Sa might have been the youngest in her section, but it didn’t stop her from becoming a world champion at the IKO Nakamura 1st World Karate Tournament.
At just 18, she beat her four older opponents to take out the women’s title in Osaka.
D’Sa said it was pretty special to claim the title.
“It feels so good,” she said, “It was such an honour winning it.
“I was kind of confident and a little bit nervous, but I hoped that I could win. I was happy with my performance.”
The competition was open age and weight and featured a number of athletes from across the world.
Among those who D’Sa beat was Taiwan’s Yi-Rong Chen who is a champion of the sport.
In the final she beat Hungary’s Norina Csordas.
D’Sa started karate when she was just six after her dad signed her up.
“I’ve been doing it for 12-13 years now,” she said. “It’s a really funny story about how I started.
“My dad was coming to pick me up from my grandparents and his friend was dropping him off.
“He said I need to stop at the karate place on the way. My dad got talking and they wanted to sign him up and he signed me up instead.
“I was like it’s kind of crazy but I went there and I loved it.”
D’Sa said her dad did try it out as well for a while but he didn’t last long.
She trains at the Chikara Dojo in Footscray and now teaches there as well. She was greeted back after her title win with a guard of honour along with Jacob Yacob, Nasar Bunjaku and Emre Yamaguchi who also competed in Japan.
“I teach the little kids and it feels really good,” she said. “I was nervous and not confident in myself to start with.
“I now feel more confident and to teach them and get them under control.
D’Sa lives a busy life with all her training.
She trains six days a week and sometimes two to three times a day. She also studies law at Victoria University.
D’Sa, who has three different black belts, will have her next fight in November in which she will be part of the Chikara Redemption event.
Next year she will head back to Japan to try and win another world championship.
