#4: Gold And Silver! Maltese Athletes Medal In Albanian E1
Four Maltese athletes returned from Albania with two gold and two silver medals wrapped around their necks.
The honours were claimed from the 10th Tirana Open, which took place on Saturday 6th May.
Team Malta was represented by athletes Alycia Cassar [ITL] and Michela Scerri [ITL[, and led by national coach Ditmir Vodinaj. They were joined by Dragon Academy athletes Nathan Degiorgio and Luke Chircop. They were led by their coach Mauro Busuttil.
The day immediately started on a positive note, with Dragon Academy athletes finding a win in their first matches.
Nathan Degiorgio got the better of Albanian opponent Ditjon Gjikaj in fight 201 with a round score of 2:0. He capitalised with a semi-final win, this time against Greek Michail Sotiropoulos in fight 206.
In the final, Nathan faced another Greek opponent - Stefanos Loukaris - in fight 213. The score ended 2:0 against the Maltese youngster. Nevertheless, the effort led him to a second-place finish on the podium.
Following behind was Luke Chircop, who bagged a 2:0 win over Montenegran Novac Adzic in fight 303. In the final - fight 312 - he faced a second Montenegran. This time, Marko Vukcevic. Despite a great effort from the Maltese, Vukcevic found the win with a score of 2:0.
Another silver medal for Dragon Academy, and Malta.
Nathan Degiorgio (left) and Luke Chircop (right)
Determined to keep up the pace were Malta Taekwondo Association athletes Michela Scerri and Alycia Cassar, both led by Ditmir Vodinaj.
Having started in a bi-round, Michela Scerri moved directly into the final of her respective set, where she faced Greek athlete Sofia Protonotariou (fight 114). Protonotariou previously won 2:0 against a Montenegrin adversary.
Michela registered a 2:1 win over her opponent after a sublime headshot in the dying moments of the final round. A gold medal for Malta and the Iron Taekwondo League athlete.
Next on the stage was Alycia Cassar, another Iron Taekwondo League athlete. Alycia was uncontested in her respective set (-55kg). This meant a first-place finish.
Because of this shortcoming, Alycia fought up a class: the Tirana Open -59kg category. In the semi-final (fight 408), Alycia faced Albanian national E. Hasa and left the mat with a 2:0 win. She then moved to the final, fighting A. Mihailovic in match 218.2.
A tense exchange had Alycia win the first round and Mihailovic the second. It was all to play for in the final round. Yet, the Maltese athlete got the better of her opponent with a 4-3 score that left the match at 2:1.
A second Gold medal for Malta.
With a medal haul of two golds and two silvers, the Malta Taekwondo Association congratulates all athletes and their respective teams and coaches for an impressive and impassioned showing on foreign soil.
