Nepali Athlete Santosh Rai Secures Bronze at USA Open Karate Championship 2026

Kathmandu. Nepali athlete Santosh Rai has won a medal for his country at the ongoing USA Open Karate Championship 2026 in Texas, USA. Santosh secured a bronze medal in the Kata category during the competition held at the Fort Worth Convention Center on Sunday.

In his pursuit of the medal, Santosh defeated American athlete Carrasquel in the repechage round. Prior to that, he had a strong start, defeating America's Vilaro Pierpaolo in the first match and Compas Johnny in the second match. 

However, his path to the final was blocked after he was defeated by Osako Hisao in the third match. Despite missing the final, he successfully raised Nepal's flag through the repechage round.

Santosh also presented a tough challenge in the fight (Kumite) category. Although he drew attention by winning five consecutive bouts in the fight category, he could not secure a medal. He was defeated by Sardi Marcelo in the final showdown for the medal. 

Coach Sunil Lama stated that Santosh's performance was satisfactory and that another medal was missed due to minor errors in the final moments. In the fight category, he had defeated his American opponent by a wide margin of 7–0 in the very first match.