Katryna Esposito has been one of the faces of Maltese judo, particularly in the last two years, following her exceptional performances on the international scene.
The 22-year-old has enjoyed some impressive results during the past three years or so.
In fact, Esposito has gone from strength to strength, winning a bronze medal at the 2019 Commonwealth Championships before again placing third at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year.
This year, Esposito continued to maintain high standards, winning further bronze medals at the World Open tournaments held in Tunisia and Algeria before establishing herself as one of the top judokas in the -48kg category when reaching the Last 16 at the World Championships held in Qatar.
Despite these excellent results, Esposito is keeping her feet rooted to the ground and is still focused on putting her best performance yet in the Games.
“I always try to take things step by step,” Esposito said.
“Confidence is important but in my opinion, it’s important to remain focused and humble as in a sport like judo anything can happen on the day.
“For me, these Games are very special as they are being held at home and I’m really excited to perform in front of the Maltese fans.”
Esposito made her debut in the GSSE four years ago in Montenegro but since then she has come a long way.
“Since the 2019 Games, I’ve gained a lot of experience and learned a lot. Back then I had only been training seriously with the intention of competing for six months, so I’ve had more time to develop my style of judo.”
Looking ahead to the Games, Esposito says her main goal is to give everything she can to get the best possible result and hopefully she can inspire other youngsters to take up the sport.
“I just want to enjoy this experience at the Malta GSSE and do my best and give it my all, I think that is all I can do and all anyone can ask from me,” Esposito said.
“I hope having the Games in Malta will inspire younger generations to take up different sports, and lead a more active lifestyle.”
