ROME (ITALPRESS) – At the World Taekwondo Junior Championships 2024 in Chuncheon, South Korea, the Italian national team won its second medal, confirming a good overall performance. After Matteo De Angelis’ silver in heavyweight, it was Sicilian Angelo Mangione who brought home a bronze in the -73 kg category. This result represents for Mangione a further confirmation of his talent, after the world title won in the previous edition. Mangione showed great determination throughout the tournament, but the semifinal against South Korean Jae Won Park proved to be unfortunate. The Italian athlete led the first round decisively, but in the last seconds he was overmatched by his opponent. Despite his efforts in the second round, Mangione was unable to recover, losing the bout by the score of 0-2. However, his run up to that point was exemplary and secured him a well-deserved bronze medal. Mangione’s journey had started brightly, with a crushing victory in the quarterfinals against Karlo Marjanovic, who was beaten by a wide score in both rounds (15-3 and 14-1). In the round of 16, Mangione also faced a tough challenge against Egyptian Ahmed Yasser Fathy Ibrahim, but after a hard-fought match until the last round, he managed to prevail with a score of 6-4. Unfortunately, it did not go as well for Luigi Fegatilli in the -78 kg category. The Italian athlete was defeated by Iranian Amin Mohammad Hamadvand in the round of 16, despite a balanced first round. However, Fegatilli had managed to make it past the round of 16, beating Moroccan Adam El Amrani with a solid performance. Angelo Mangione, on the other hand, was able to impose himself from the beginning of the tournament, winning his first matches with authority. In the sixteenth finals he beat Ukraine’s Andrii Hryhorchuk, recovering an early disadvantage and then dominating in the second and third rounds. In the thirty-second finals, Mangione overcame Kazakhstan’s Askhat Butabayev, winning both rounds by scores of 11-9 and 9-4.Tomorrow, the final day of competition will see other Italian athletes involved, including Angelo Longobardi in the M-59 kg category, Riccardo Giordano in the M-68 kg category and Lucia Pezzolla in the F-55 kg category.- photo Fita press office -(ITALPRESS).
