Olympics: Karate athletes embracing moment in Tokyo Games sun

After karate made its debut at the Tokyo Games on Thursday, athletes who have waited years to introduce their sport to an Olympic audience spoke of the thrill they experienced to finally have that chance.Karate, a combat sport that originated in Okinawa in southern Japan, opened its three-day Olympic competition in front of empty grandstands at Nippon Budokan, the spiritual home of Japanese martial arts.Thirty athletes took to the mat, competing over three events -- the women's kata, women's 55-kilogram kumite and men's 67-kg kumite.They embraced a moment that might be fleeting given the sp…READ FULL ARTICLE