ROMA (ITALPRESS) – The last day of Taekwondo’s European Under-21 ends in the best way for Italy thanks to the gold conquered by Mattia Molin in the category +87 kg male. A high-level performance, which illuminated the fourth day of competitions in Pristina (in Kosovo) and gave the blue team the sixth medal of the competition (the fourth of gold).
Molin has built his path with great authority since the initial shifts. After the net success for 2-0 against Spanish Raul Gordo Merino in the 16th century, the blue confirmed its shape in the eighths by overcoming Romanian Robert Manea without giving rounds. At the quarterfinals Molin raised the level further by imposing on the Turkish Rahmet Baran Simsek in an intense and fought match, managed with intelligence even in the most delicate moments. In the semi-finals, against the Russian Egor Shefatov, Molin offered perhaps the most dominant test of the day, closing the meeting on 2-0 with wide margins in both rounds and showing an evident technical and athletic superiority.
The final against the Polish Zbigniew Jablonski confirmed all the qualities of the blue: 2-0 the final result, with a fully controlled first round and a second run with great clarity until the last exchange, which delivered Molin the Under-21 continental gold medal.
In addition to Molin’s business, the final day saw several Italians engaged in several categories. In the -74 kg Andrea Zappone reached the quarterfinals after two important victories against Andrii Hryhorchuk and Kirill Panasenkov, then stopping against the Croatian Grga Dugac. In the +87 kg it stopped at the eighth Matteo De Angelis, defeated at the third round by the Greek Petros Giannouchidis after a balanced match. In the -58 kg Luigi Antonio Elia and Riccardo Pastore have passed the sixteenths, but they have stopped to the eighty respectively against Magomedgadzhi Magomedov and Amine Boukarnia. In the -68 kg Christian Santinelli and Luca Fabian Serban, both winners in the first round, were unable to continue their journey in the 16th century.
The success of Molin is to enrich an extremely positive overall budget for the Blue delegation. On previous days Italy had already won important medals: the gold of Anna Frassica in the category -53 kg female, the silver of Giulia Galiero and the bronze of Elisa Bertagnin in -46 kg and two other prestigious continental male titles won by Abderrahman Touiar in -54 kg and by Ludovico Iurlaro in -63 kg.
– photos Press Office Fita –
(ITALPRESS).
Taekwondo: gold for Molin, Italy closes European Under 21 with 6 medals
