A high Five for Bushido in Euro Championships
By Stephen Leonard
BUSHIDO MA Clondalkin will boast five members on the official KBI (Kickboxing Ireland) WAKO Cadet and Junior National team that will travel to San Sebastian, Spain for the week-long European Championships taking place from August 23-29.
Under the guidance of coach Ilija Salerno, the team will be pushing strongly for European honours, none more so than 15-year-old Karyna Nikitina who has been at the forefront of the cadet and junior national team for the past four years
She has already earned continental and world championship glory in all her past four outings for the national team.
Competing in the Girls -60kg Older Cadet Points Fighting and Continuous Division, she is the favourite to take home a gold in both disciplines.
“Every year the pressure is more intense for Karyna” said Coach Salerno
“Karyna is the girl everybody wants to beat or at least try, but the thing is, she is getting stronger and even more experienced as she is getting older, so stepping up against her is no easy task.
“But anything can happen when you step on to the fighting arena. Injuries happen and bad days can occur, but, fingers crossed, her preparations continue to go smoothly and she stays focused come fight day” he added.
Eighteen-year-old Luke Kelly is making his final outing as a junior competitor for the national team in the -57kg Points Fighting category.
“Last year Luke was so close in finishing in the medal stages but lost out to a very close decision in the quarter finals to the eventual winner from the UK” recalled Salerno.
“This year he had to deal with the leaving certificate, so his final year in school had priority naturally. I really hope he finishes the last year fighting as a junior with a well-deserved medal” he added.
Shannon Gayson (17) was last year’s surprise World bronze medallist in the WAKO Cadet & Junior World Championships in Italy and will now be pushing strongly for the Junior Girls -70kg Points Fighting title.
Gwen Hammond (16) is competing with Team Ireland for only the second year and has dropped weight to compete in the Junior Girls -56kg Full Contact division.
Splitting her training between her Head Coach Ilija Salerno in Clondalkin and her boxing coach Jim Upton in Blanchardstown and Crumlin, she has already made her mark in the ring, finishing runner-up in the Junior Girls National Boxing Championships earlier this year.
At 12 years old, Max Popchenko is making his debut for the Irish team and will contest the Boys Younger Cadet -47kg Points Fighting division.
He was selected for the squad following his outstanding performance in this year’s National Kickboxing Championships back in April.
