Saturday 16th December saw Dragon Taekwondo 6th and last foreign commitment for this year. It was a busy year but quite rewarding.
A team of 7 athletes and 1 coach was fielded at K2 Arena in Crawley, United Kingdom, for the Kixstar London Open 2023… and one gold medal and five silvers followed.
Shania Magro (Senior F -53kg) opened the day for the team with a decisive win of 2-0. Second bout was tighter, with a win of 2-1 landing her in the final. It was a pleasure seeing her go more strategic working well the ring. Final match went the opponent’s way with a loss of 2-0 earning a well-deserved Silver to our athlete.
Next was Samuel Vella’s (Cadet M -45kg) debut in the A class seeing a strong performance of 2 wins with score 2-0 at quarter and semifinals. This year was a steep learning curve for him, as we have seen him grow strategically in his aggressive style. Sam earned the team another silver in his final.
Nathan Degiorgio (Cadet M -53kg) went up a category to his usual -49kgs in preparation for next year as he debuts in Juniors. It was a tough day for Nathan as he went in the competition with an injured right foot which was felt and impacted his performance. Notwithstanding this, he managed to win the quarter and semifinals with 2-0 score. The semi-final was hard, as he had to fight his way with mostly his left foot… and this left an impact as he had to withdraw from the final due to his injury earning him a silver testament to his perseverance.
Luke Chircop (Cadet M -57kg) went up also a heavier category due to his growth. Luke won the semifinal with a score of 2-0 ending him in the final where after a hard-fought fight, he lost 2-0 against his opponent earning the 3rd silver of the day. Luke’s growth is steady this year as testing and reshaping his skills took precedence over the outcome of fights. He still got another year in the cadets age group, which will surely provide him a good platform where to develop further.
Aretina Chamaleli’s (Junior F -55kg) performance was solid and spot on earning her an undisputed gold medal. She won the semifinal and final with a solid score of 2-0 in both fights. It was a joy seeing her fight calmly and sharp, always on alert minding distance and firing her shots with right timing. Truly a great performance.
Jerome Vassallo (Senior M -74kg) opened his fight with a solid performance in his first round managing distance really well earning the win for him. Though next 2 rounds saw those instances of ease costing dearly to him as his opponent was ready to strike at those right times. Jerome lost the fight with a score of 2-1. This fight was Jerome’s comeback to the competitive scene; not the result we desired, but surely a good nurturing fuel to what is coming.
Nicole Bunce’s (Senior F -62kg) first ever participation in foreign soil. She debuted in the B class where she was placed straight into the final. Unfortunately, we are not used anymore to manual scoring of fights and that played a heavy toll on her as the game changes from the PSS system resulting in her losing this fight. Though, she never stopped fighting; a testament to her perseverance and determination in a year filled with ups and downs.
This competition was a domestic Open and not a Graded event that will not bare any world/European ranking points but it surely gave our athletes the much-needed experience of testing their skills in pressured environment. Any opportunity is valid, as long as we come back with a wealth of insights that fuel our progress. We are looking forward to next competitive year!