World number two Vu Duc Minh Dack of New Caledonia lived up to expectations in front of his home crowd as he claimed the gold medal in the men’s kata category ©Karate NZ

World number two Vu Duc Minh Dack of New Caledonia lived up to expectations in front of his home crowd as he claimed the gold medal in the men’s kata category at the Oceania Karate Federation (OKF) Championships in Nouméa.

Dack produced his best form throughout the tournament and topped the podium by earning victory over compatriot Arnaud Saturnin in the final.

The two bronze medals available in the division went to Nicholas Rowsby of New Zealand and Australia's John Georgas respectively.

Although the Pacific country finished well adrift of Australia and New Zealand in the overall medal standings, New Caledonia had further success to cheer in three other men’s categories.

Jean Emmanuel Faure clinched the title in the under 60 kilogram kumite competition, overcoming Australian karateka Yehia Hasanen in the final, with New Zealand duo Mitchell Whitehead and Zak Scott taking bronze.

Kevyn Pognon then secured the under 84kg kumite honours by beating Shane Tregidga of New Zealand in the gold medal bout, while a pair of Australians – Alexander Georgieff and Davor Banadinovic – claimed the last two spots on the podium.

The fourth and final triumph for the host nation came in the heavyweight over 84kg category as Kenny Guillem proved too strong for Boris Ilic of Australia.

The impressive medal haul from New Caledonia continued as Dylan Agamulu won a bronze medal, along with Angel Georgieff of Australia.

The Oceania Karate Championships in Nouméa attracted 400 athletes from nine countries ©WKF
The Oceania Karate Championships in Nouméa attracted 400 athletes from nine countries ©WKF

Fiji were the only other country to take home a gold medal in the men’s events as Joji Veremalua ousted Michael Economou of Australia in the under 75kg kumite weight class.

Bronze medals went the way of Veremalua’s team-mate Tevita Tamanigaunatawamudu and Australian Sebastian Szalay.

In the women’s competitions, the teams from Australia and New Zealand proved dominant as they shared the eight gold medals between them.

Evgeniya Podborodnikova was the star performer as the Australian prevailed in both the over 68kg kumite and open kumite categories.

She reigned supreme in the over 68kg with a commanding win against New Zealand’s Sophie Savill in the final as bronze medals were claimed by Savill’s compatriot Tia Tuiburelevu and Vaitiare Tehaameamea of Tahiti.

Podborodnikova picked up her second gold medal of the Championships in the open category, beating Amy Thomason of New Zealand to the crown.

Savill added to her personal collection with bronze, with the other going to Rebecca Sullivan of Australia.

Australia ended the competition top of the medal table with a total of of 108, 31 of which were gold.

New Zealand achieved the same number of golds but ended eight adrift of the Australian’s overall total.