World champion Sánchez Jaime prevailed in the final pool with an excellent "Papuren" kata and a score of 26.8 points at the Gymnasium of the University of Finance and Economics.

World silver medallist Shimizu, meanwhile, topped the second pool with her flawless presentation of "Chatanyara Kushanku" kata, scoring 26.58 points.

The pair will meet in the final of a major event for the sixth time this season on Sunday (June 9).

France’s Alexandra Recchia was one of the biggest stars of the day with the former world champion returning to a final of a Karate 1-Premier League event nearly two years after her last appearance. 

She defeated Egypt’s Reem Ahmed Salama 2-0 in the women's kumite under-50 kilograms semi-finals to give her the chance of winning her first gold medal since her victory at the 2017 Karate 1-Premier League event in Rotterdam.

Her rival will be Turkey’s Serap Özçelik, who claimed a convincing 8-0 win over Chinese Taipei's Ku Tsui-ping in the last four.

Özçelik, the World Karate Federation World Ranking leader, will fight for her fifth gold medal in seven events this year.

The home fans also had reasons to celebrate with China's Ding Jiamei securing her place in the final of the women's kumite under-55kg event. 

The 20-year-old defeated Italy's Lorena Busa 2-1 in the penultimate round to qualify for her first final at senior level. 

She will do battle for the gold medal against Ukraine's Anzhelika Terliuga, who made it to her fourth final this year following victory over Turkey’s Tuba Yakan.

The men's kumite under-60kg category will see an all-Kazakhstani final between Darkhan Assadilov and Kaisar Alpysbair.

Assadilov, 31, overcame Azerbaijan's Firdovsi Farzaliyev 4-0 in semi-finals to make it to his fifth final this season, while Alpysbair edged Brazil's Douglas Brose 1-0 to reach his first gold medal match at a major event.

Elsewhere, Venezuela's Andrés Madera Delgado qualified for his first final in the men's kumite under-67kg division since his silver medal-winning performance at the 2017 Pan American Championships, after a win by "Hantei" over France's Steven Da Costa in the semi-finals. 

On the other side of the draw, Iran’s Seyedali Karimi reached his first final since claiming the silver medal at the 2018 Karate 1-Premier League event in Istanbul with a narrow victory over Thailand's Supa Ngamphuengphit.

In the men's kumite under-75kg category, Uzbekistan's Dastonbek Otabolaev qualified for his first final in more than a year. 

The 25-year old beat the United States' Thomas Scott 2-0 in the semi-finals and will face world champion Bahman Asgari Ghoncheh of Iran.

Asgari Ghoncheh, who has one Karate 1-Premier League gold medal to his name this year, defeated Turkey’s Erman Eltemur 3-1 in the other last-four encounter. 

Hong Kong against Kuwait in men's team kata completed the list of finalists determined on the first day of competition.

Action in Shanghai is due to continue tomorrow with all finals scheduled for Sunday.