#124: From Tirana to Liège: ITL Brings Home Five Medals
Over the weekend of 14th and 15th February, Iron Taekwondo League (ITL) fielded two competitive teams across two countries — Albania and Belgium — and brought back five medals.
The Albanian contingent was led by coach Ditmir Vodinaj, with junior athletes Alycia Cassar (-63kg) and Jean Schembri (-45kg) competing in two major events:
2026 ETU Grand Prix Open Qualification Tournament (E6)
Top Tirana Open
Coach Ditmir Vodinaj, together with athletes Jean Schembri (left) and Alycia Cassar (right).
Day 1 – ETU Grand Prix Open Qualification (E6)
On Saturday 14th February, Alycia drew Turkish athlete Elif Esmira Ozdirim in the opening round. Despite delivering a strong and determined performance, Alycia narrowly lost the match against the athlete who would go on to win the group.
Jean faced a difficult round of 32 draw against France’s G. Azaryan. He showed courage and grit but was unfortunately eliminated in his opening contest.
Day 2 – Top Tirana Open
The following day, both athletes returned to the same venue in Albania’s capital for the Top Tirana Open.
Alycia opened her campaign in the quarter-final against Greek athlete Elisavet Douvri, securing a convincing victory to advance to the semi-final.
In a twist of fate, she once again faced Ozdirim of Turkey. Alycia showed clear improvement, managing to close the gap significantly from the previous day’s encounter. Despite losing the semi-final, her performance earned her a well-deserved bronze medal.
Jean began directly in the semi-final against Greek athlete Theodoros Giannakakis. In a hard-fought match, Jean narrowly missed out on the final but secured bronze, marking an important international podium finish.
Bronze medalists Alycia Cassar (left) and Jean Schembri (right).
Meanwhile, In Belgium…
In Liège, Belgium, coach Gianluca Barbara led the junior/senior contingent of:
Czarek Odlanicki Poczobutt (-87kg)
Fergeson Galea (-63kg)
Robin Zammit (-55kg)
Gianluca also competed in the Masters -80kg division.
Fergeson opened in the Round of 8 against Belgian development team athlete Lucas Pierard, securing an impressive two-round victory.
ITL’s Fergeson Galea (left) and coach Gianluca Barbara (right).
In the quarter-final, he faced another Belgian development team member, Gabriel Wilkin. In a thrilling encounter, Fergeson led the first round until a last-second equaliser made it 14–14, with the advantage awarded to the Belgian. The second round remained neck-and-neck, with Wilkin edging ahead by just two points.
Although he narrowly missed out on a medal, Fergeson delivered one of the most spirited performances of the day.
ITL’s Robin Zammit (left) with coach Gianluca (right).
Robin began in the quarter-final against Belgian athlete Ilias Bouaissi, claiming a convincing win.
In the semi-final, he faced Dutch athlete Imran Bouazzaoui. After losing the first round 11–0, Robin mounted a spectacular comeback, winning rounds two and three — sealing victory with a spectacular last-second head kick.
Advancing to the final, Robin faced Souhail Dekhissi in a high-level contest. Despite an outstanding effort, the result went against the Maltese athlete. Robin secured a prestigious silver medal.
Czarek advanced via bye into the semi-final, where he met Norway’s Sebastian Thune. The match was intensely contested over two rounds, but the Norwegian edged ahead. Thune would later go on to win the division convincingly.
Czarek earned a strong bronze medal finish.
ITL’s Gianluca (left) and Czarek Odlanicki (right).
Gianluca began his campaign in the semi-final against Gaetano Gueli of Korea Club Houdeng (Belgium), securing a dominant two-round victory.
In the final, he faced Dutch standout Norman Hornberger — a rematch from two years prior at the same competition.
Gianluca controlled proceedings from the outset, winning the first round 12–0 and closing the match 14–5 in round two to secure gold.
The victory also earned him the award for Best Masters Athlete of the Division, marking the third consecutive year he has achieved this honour at this competition.
Winning the ‘Best Master Athlete’ award in the Open De Liege, presented by competition organiser Fabio De Simone.
ITL landed an impressive 19th out of 80 teams in the A+B divisions, having participated with only 4 athletes, and competing with teams averaging 15 athletes.
A Weekend of Growth and Success
Across Albania and Belgium, ITL athletes demonstrated resilience, international competitiveness, and championship mentality.
With:
1 Gold
1 Silver
3 Bronze
ITL continues to build momentum on the European circuit.
ITL’s Belgium contingent featuring (from left to right) Fergeson Galea, Robin Zammit, Czarek Odlanicki and Gianluca Barbara.
The club extends sincere thanks to competition organiser Fabio De Simone (BEL) for his hospitality and professional organisation of the Belgian event, and to the Albanian Taekwondo Authorities - together with the European Taekwondo Union (ETU) for hosting the team in Tirana.
ITL’s Albania venture was made possible with the support of APS bank.
We would also like to extend our thanks to the Malta Taekwondo Association, SPORTMALTA and sponsor APS Bank, who made this venture possible.
Iron sharpens iron — and this weekend proved once again that ITL belongs on the European stage.
