#16: More Medals For Malta In Romania’s ‘Dracula Open’

Maltese athletes have kept the country’s medal streak alive with another Bronze in this year’s edition of the Dracula Open G1.

The tournament took place on the weekend of the 28th and 29th of October 2023. It was attended by various athletes looking to rack-up international ranking points. Among them were two Dragon Club athletes - Nathan Degiorgio and Luke Chircop, both led by club coach Mauro Busuttil.

A third athlete - Samuel Vella took part in the tournament’s B class category. A segment for beginner-to-intermediate belt ranks that excluded headshots.

Nathan Degiorgio

Nathan Degiorgio (cadet -49kgs) bagged a win against Daniil Modnov (UKR) in the quarter-final with a round score of 2-0. He then faced a second Ukrainian athlete - Mykhailo Savkov in the semi.

The encounter with Savkov needed a third-round playoff after the Maltese and Ukrainian each won a round. Adding to the suspense, the third round ended with a draw on the scoreboard, but Savkov was declared the winner due to having registered more hits on the Point Scoring System (PSS).

Nathan’s achieved a bronze medal. Another one for the good.

Luke Chircop (athlete) and Mauro Busuttil (club coach)

Luke Chircop (Cadet -53kgs) met Arkhip Shulzhenko (UKR) in his first match. A round-of-eight draw in a set of 10 contestants.

Luke started strong, but a well-placed headshot from the Ukrainian at minute 1:28 of the first round forced a standing count from the referee.

After the count, the referee declared the contest over and Shulzenko, the winner.

Mauro Busuttil (club coach) and Samuel Vella (athlete)

Samuel (Cadet -45 kg) wound up straight in the final of his respective category in the competition’s B Class.

He won comfortably against his Romanian opponent with a 2:0 round score. A 4-2 win in the first round and a 6-1 win in the second.

Samuel’s gold medal marked an unforgettable experience for him as well as his team.

This venture concludes another remarkable showing for Maltese athletes abroad. Hats off to the players and coach Mauro, who made it all possible.

The Malta Taekwondo Association now looks to its next challenge: the Swedish Open G1 taking place mid-November. For this event, National Coach Ditmir Vodinaj (ITL) has selected the following players: Michela Scerri (ITL), Alycia Cassar (ITL), Nathan Degiorgio (DAM) and Mamadou Balde (ITL).