SATV, Kathmandu, Apr. 12: Nepali karate star Arika Gurung has advanced to the finals of the Karate One Premier League in Leshan, China.

Gurung defeated Italy’s Clio Ferracuti 8–3 in the semi-final of the women’s +68kg Kumite category. Clio is ranked 15 with 1920 points in the league.

This is her second appearance in a Premier League final. She previously won silver in the opening leg of the season in Istanbul in January.

She will now face Kazakhstan’s Sofy Berultseva for the gold medal. 

Berultseva overcame Ukraine’s Dariia Bulay in Sen after a 5–5 draw in the other semi-final. 

The Kazakh, ranked No.1 in the league, has already claimed six Premier League golds. This will be the second final meeting between the two; Berultseva beat Gurung 4–2 in Istanbul.

Nicknamed the “Himalayan Warrior”, Gurung reached the quarter-finals after topping Pool 3. She defeated Montenegro’s Jovana Damjanovic 2–0, drew 1–1 with Belarusian Maryia Malakhava but advanced in Sen, and edged Germany’s Johanna Kneer 2–1 to finish as group winner.

In the quarter-final, Gurung swept aside Slovenia’s Zala Maria Zibret 8–0 to secure her semi-final berth.

Currently ranked 11th with 2,145 points, Gurung is the first Nepali to compete in karate’s top-tier series. Coached by Kushal Shrestha, Gurung has already made history for Nepal, winning the nation’s first gold medal in the Karate 1 Series A in 2025, its first bronze in the Premier League the same year, and silver in Istanbul earlier this season.

Her record also includes silver medals at the 20th Asian Senior Championships in 2024, the Asian Games, and the Karate 1 Youth League in Fujairah in 2025 (U21 category).

A total of 23 athletes are contesting the women’s +68kg division in Leshan, split into six groups. The tournament, staged at the Leshan Olympic Sports Centre, is the third stop of the 2026 season, following Istanbul and Rome. The season will conclude in Rabat, Morocco, from 12 to 14 June.