#140: Alycia Cassar Represents Malta at the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games

Maltese taekwondo was represented on one of the Mediterranean region’s biggest sporting stages as 17-year-old Alycia Cassar competed in the Women’s -67kg category at the XX Mediterranean Games – Taranto 2026, accompanied by her coach, Gianluca Barbara.

Held in Taranto and across the wider Puglia region between 21 August and 3 September, the Mediterranean Games bring together thousands of athletes from nations bordering the Mediterranean and beyond. The 2026 edition welcomed approximately 3,854 athletes representing 26 National Olympic Committees, competing across a wide programme of sports.

For Malta’s young taekwondo representative, simply reaching such a stage represented another important milestone in what is still the very early part of her sporting career.

From Junior Taekwondo to the Mediterranean Games

Cassar was selected to represent Malta through the Malta Olympic Committee, earning the opportunity to compete as part of the Maltese contingent in Taranto.

Her selection was particularly significant considering her age. At just 17 years old, Cassar remains a junior athlete, but in Taranto she was called upon to step onto the senior international stage in the Women’s -67kg division.

It was another major step in a young career which has already provided Cassar with considerable international experience, while also offering an opportunity to discover first-hand the standards demanded at the highest levels of senior competition.

Her Mediterranean Games draw provided precisely that challenge.

Cassar was paired against Croatia’s Ivana Arelić, an established senior international athlete and one of the stronger competitors currently operating in the -67kg division.

Arelić entered Taranto with an impressive international résumé. The Croatian won gold at the 2025 Croatia Open, has collected medals at several international ranking competitions, and earned bronze at the 2025 FISU World University Games. She has also continued to produce strong results in 2026, including bronze at the Bosnia Open.

Perhaps most indicative of the level Cassar faced was Arelić’s performance at the 2026 World Taekwondo President’s Cup Europe, where she defeated Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Aleksandra Perišić in straight rounds.

The difference in age and senior experience therefore made for a formidable first Mediterranean Games assignment for the young Maltese athlete.

Arelić ultimately proved too strong on the day, taking the contest in two rounds and bringing Cassar’s competition to an end.

An Experience Bigger Than One Result

International sport is measured in victories and defeats, but development cannot always be measured by the result displayed on a scoreboard.

For Cassar, Taranto represented an opportunity to experience the environment surrounding a major multisport Games: living within the Maltese delegation, preparing alongside athletes from other sports, entering an arena wearing Malta’s colours and competing against established senior international opposition.

For coach Gianluca Barbara, the Games also provided an invaluable opportunity to observe the standards required at this level and to return home with a clearer picture of the work that lies ahead.

Experiences such as these demonstrate both how far Maltese taekwondo has travelled and how much further it must continue to go.

Closing the distance to the strongest international programmes requires continued work at every level — technical, tactical and physical — but also in the mentality with which athletes approach high-performance sport.

Young athletes must be prepared to seek difficult opposition rather than avoid it; to accept setbacks without being defined by them; and to understand that competing internationally inevitably means encountering athletes who, on a particular day, may simply be better.

The response is to learn, return to training and improve.

In this respect, Cassar continues to demonstrate qualities which extend beyond her competitive results. Throughout her development she has shown a willingness to train, listen, accept criticism, compete internationally and return to work following both victories and defeats.

Thanks to the Malta Olympic Committee

The Malta Taekwondo Association would like to express its sincere gratitude to the Malta Olympic Committee for selecting Alycia Cassar to represent Malta at the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games and for providing both athlete and coach with the opportunity to experience such a prestigious international sporting event.

The support, organisation and work required to provide Maltese athletes with opportunities to compete on these stages is deeply appreciated.

The Association congratulates Alycia on representing her country with pride and wishes her every success as she continues her transition from junior competition towards the senior international stage.