#41: Malta Medals At European Club Championships
Another medal as ITL and Maltese national athlete Michela Scerri places third at the European Clubs Championship.
The tournament was held on the 13th of April 2024 in Albania, which welcomed hundreds of European athletes as they battled it out on the mat.
Two Maltese athletes entered the fray: Michela Scerri (ITL) under representation of the Malta Taekwondo Association, and Nathan Degiorgio. The former was led by National Coach Ditmir Vodinaj (ITL) and the latter, by Coach Mauro Busuttil (DAM).
Michela Scerri
Article adapted from here.
ITL’s Michela secured a semi-final spot after a convincing win against Helena Melez, from Bosnia, with a 2:0 round score.
In the semi-final, she then faced the first-ranked athlete of the division, Ayse Orhan (TUR).
Michela started strong, registering a spectacular win in the first round, with Orhan struggling to find an opening in the Maltese.
Come round 2, Orhan went on the offensive and strived to keep Michela at the edge of the ring. Her strategy secured a win in the second round for the experienced Turk.
With all to play for in the third round, Orhan kept mounting pressure to keep the young Maltese at the edge of the ring. In the end, Michela lost with a PUN decision.
Michela’s superb efforts led her to the podium once again. This, just after her impressive double-gold at the Asteriks cup.
Nathan Degiorgio
Degiorgio faced stiff opposition in the form of Greek athlete Evangelos Adamidis.
Nathan secured an early lead in the first round with an impressive spinning backkick that gave him four points. But a counter-offensive by the Greek kept the Maltese at the edge of the ring.
Adamidis landed a few blows on the body of the Maltese, leading him to a lead that he guarded till the final bell.
Come round 2, Adamidis maintained his strategy of keeping Degiorgio at the edge of the ring. In doing so, Degiorgio amassed 5 gamgeoms and lost the second round by PUN.
Podium
The performance from Michela led to another medal for the Maltese team, as she joined a host of winners on the podium on the day.
The Association thanks SPORTMALTA, who made this venture possible through their undying support.
Well done team Malta
