France karate competitor Emily Thouy has declared her pride at winning gold in the first European Games, adding that it is all the more important given that her sport is not an Olympic discipline.

The 2012 world champion defeated Croatia's Jelena Kovacevic on Saturday to secure first place in the women's kumite -55kg.

Thouy told reporters: "This gold medal confirms my result from the European Championships.

"Once I step on to the mat I forget everything around me, everything that happened before and I am fully focused on my goal.

"These are the first European Games and it is a very important competition for us since karate is not in the Olympics. So this event is something to remember."

All karate medal bouts in Baku will be settled on Saturday and Sunday.