Enver Idrizi (; born 4 August 1966) is a Croatian former

karateka (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts. While moder ...

and former World Champion. He is an ethnic

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

, born in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

. He was the karate champion of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

at the age of 16. The day he won his first medal for

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

was the day Croatia was officially recognized as an independent country. Because of him, karate has become a popular trophy sport in Croatia since Croatia's independence. He played a role in the 1996 movie '' Don't Forget Me'', directed by

Jakov Sedlar Jakov Sedlar (born 6 November 1952) is a Croatian film director and Film producer, producer. A former cultural attaché during the 1990s in the Franjo Tuđman government, his documentaries promote Croatian nationalism, Croatian nationalist views t ...

. Idrizi is a recipient of the

Order of Danica Hrvatska The Order of Danica Hrvatska (, ) is the fourteenth most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on 1 April 1995. The medal is awarded for different purposes and with different faces: * Marko Marulić – for cultur ...

with the face of Franjo Bučar.

References

External links

* 1966 births Living people Sportspeople from Skopje Albanians in North Macedonia Croatian male karateka Croatian people of Albanian descent Croatian people of Macedonian descent {{Croatia-karate-bio-stub