Browne and Dowdall star for Tallaght on Euro stage
JODIE Browne and Cialum Dowdall starred for Tallaght Martial Arts in the club’s superb showing at the WAKO European Kickboxing Champion-ships in Hungary.
Her first year fighting at junior level, Browne stormed to gold in the Junior Girls (16-18 years) -65kg Points Fighting division, winning all her four bouts en route to the European title by maximum scores in a campaign she ignited with a 17-7 victory over Slovakia’s Masa Kenijalo.
Jodie Browne on her way to winning gold at the WAKO European Champ-ionships
Similarly convincing wins against Alessandra Guida of Italy and Greece’s Andrianna Kilmantiri set her up for a decider against Angelina Czekalla from Germany, Browne stopping her opponent in the second round after going 15-5 up.
She also lined out in the team event, helping her side to the final were they lost out to Italy by just a solitary point.
Cialum Dowdall, fighting in the Older Cadets Light Contact -63kg field, came through tough competition on his way to the decider.
Indeed he surmounted the challenges of Romania’s Silviu Gheorghia, Bramati Federico from Italy and Ali Botonjic of Slovenia to set up a final with Egor Fedulov from Russia.
Unfortunately for the Russian fighter, he picked up an injury in the semi final and was unable to contest the decider, meaning Tallaght Martial Arts had their second European Champion.
Eadaoin McCrave picked up bronze in the -65kg Points section, losing out in the dying seconds in her semi final against Czekalla having beaten Fatmanur Karaoz of Turkey in the previous round.
There was a superb silver for Sam O’Toole in the 7-9 Years -30kg Points division after he beat Pawel Bielecki from Poland before falling to Nikolai Vuchev from Bulgaria in the decider.
Both O’Toole and Emmet Bailey were competing in the WAKO Europeans for the first time, with the latter being edged out by Mate Zamarija from Croatia in the last four of the +36kg Points section.
O’Toole and Bailey were also in action in the team event in which their squad beaten Hungary and Great Britain before losing out to Bulgaria in the final.
After seeing off Bulgaria’s Martin Dimitrov, Cillian McArdle, fighting in the -28kg Younger Cadet Points class, lost out to Liam Callao from Italy in the quarter finals.
Nathan Clarke, having beaten Kacper Szymczuk from Poland, then engaged in an epic battle with 32kg Younger Cadets Points opponent Hayden Challenger from Great Britain in the last eight, losing out in sudden death.
The TMA team
Clarke and McArdle were also in action for the Younger Cadet team which finished third.
Anna White, competing in the -37kg Younger Cadet’s Points Fighting division, lost out to eventual champion Hristina Andonava from Bulgaria while Sarah Cassidy was pipped by Lili Petro from Hungary in the Older Cadets (13-15 years) semi final.
Cassidy also put in a strong performance in musical forms to win silver while clubmate Shauna Fitzpatrick beat Szaszak Nikolett in the -42kg Older Cadet’s Points field only to be edged out by Lamija Hamulic in sudden death at the quarter final stages.
Naoise Colvin was pipped in her Junior -46kg contest before Zara Jones carded a good victory over Merel De Ruke from Holland in the Older Cadet Points section after which she was undone in the dying second of her clash with Alexandra Gombas of the host country.
Jones was in light contact action, beating Zsofia Nemeti from Hungary only to lose out to the Czech Republic’s Euska Zemanova.
Thomas Potter (+47kg Younger Cadet Points) lost out 9-7 to Tommaso Trifella from Hungary.
Dylan McClelland (Older Cadet -52kg Points) chalked up two fine wins against Bulgaria’s Alexsander Avramon and Kevin Masser from Austria before losing to Bence Solymosi from Hungary in the quarter finals.
Callum O’Connor fought in three different disciplines, first up being the light contact in which he beat home competitor Pataki Barnabas before being narrowly beaten by Dylan Hunt from the UK.
In the Kick light he despatched Claudio Toro 3-0 before falling to Lorenzo Navarlo from France in the quarter final.
Ryan Del Duca, fighting in the Older Cadet Points Fighting -52kg section, was beaten by Edorardp Bagarello before Max Lennon emerged runner-up from the musical forms and weapons.
Nathan Kelly made it as far as the last four of the -47kg Older Cadets light contact where he came unstuck against a tough Svetosian Prokopa from Bulgaria.
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