Karate Pilipinas will be fielding a huge squad when it hosts the Karate1 Youth League from 14 to 17 May at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Karate Pilipinas president Richard Lim told DAILY TRIBUNE that he is looking to deploy a 34-man roster, which could further expand depending on the available slots.

“We will initially choose 34 athletes. However, it doesn’t end there. Once registration of all national federations is completed, there will be a window for additional entries,” said Lim, who is determined to dominate the prestigious age-group event.

“First, registration is exclusive to national federations that are members of the World Karate Federation. After about three weeks, if entries are not yet complete, it will be opened to everyone.”

Lim said they want to prove that they are capable of hosting major international events so they are leaving no stone unturned in coming up with a successful tournament with the help of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), led by chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio.

 “The PSC will be helping out with this championship. They are our No. 1 supporters and this is also in line with the sports tourism initiative launched last year, headed by Chairman Pato,” Lim said.

“If you notice, regular tourism in Manila usually lasts only three to four days over a weekend. But in sports, there is a longer stay. In our Youth League, the participants are 12 to 17 years old, which means they are minors and will be accompanied by their parents.”

“We have about 93 countries participating here with around 2,400 athletes. We’re expecting even more in Manila because more people can travel there and there’s strong interest in competing in Manila.”