Three Iron Taekwondo League (ITL) fighters secured three medals – two gold and one bronze – from the 2025 edition of the Open De Liege, held in Belgium this week.
The team was lead by coach Gianluca Barbara, who also competed in the Masters -80 kg category. He was joined by Czarek Odlanicki Poczobutt (senior -87 kg) and Fergeson Galea (senior – 8 kg), the latter of whom made his senior debut.
Galea opened the day having drawn French fighter Djebril Bahroum in the opening round (R8).
He won convincingly, registering two 12-point gaps and ending the match before time.
He then drew Belgium’s Julien Gilliard in the quarter-final round of the set, winning with another round score of 2:0.
Galea later advanced to the semi-finals and faced Frenchman Ilyas Ouhennou of the renowned Bamara Elite Sport Club.
The Maltese lost his first round but capitalised with a significant 8-0 win in the second round.
It was all to play for in the third round as the two exchanged blow for blow to the point were Ouhennou held a one-point lead with five seconds to spare. It was during that time that Galea landed a headshot that connected, but did not score.
After appealing for a video replay, the points were rejected because the referees had failed to resume game time on the PSS as the match went on.
Galea was unable to even the score a second time in the last five seconds and was thus eliminated.
His great performance, however, earned him a bronze medal.
Gianluca Barbara fought next in the Masters -80 kg, facing Korea Club Houdeng’s Bruno Delattre (BEL) in the final. Delattre was significantly larger in stature compared to the Maltese.
Barbara started off well, connecting with two punches to end the first round with a 3-1 win. Two well-placed headshots from Delattre in the second round, however, put the Belgian in the lead with a score of 15-10. Delattre won round two.
Come round three, Barbara connected with punch and headshot in the opening moments of the game, to maintain a lead of 4-0. He later increased the lead to 8-0 and was able to maintain it for the duration of the game, winning the match and gold.
For the second consecutive year, Barbara also claimed the award for the best player in the Masters division.
Odlanicki was the third of ITL to play, drawing Belgium’s Faruk Semiz from Corea Club Charleroi directly in the final.
It was the last match of the day and it turned out to be a spicy one, with the Iron heavyweight winning both rounds to cap off an astonishing journey to the podium.
Odlanicki connected with flying headshot to cement his win early in the second round.
The Pole would later claim gold, ITL’s third medal.
With just three players, ITL placed 16th in the team event out of 72 selections attending the event, of which some had a contingent of no less than 20 fighters.
In a statement, ITL thanked the Open De Liege 2025 organisers, particularly Fabio De Simone, for his hospitality and for managing this high-level tournament.
“This was the second year running that ITL took part in this event,” Gianluca Barbara said.
“The Open de Liege proved to be an important event for all three athletes, as they continue to accrue experience in their respective categories.
“The team returned to Malta with two gold medals and one bronze, and a wealth of experience to keep the momentum going all the way to the next competition.”
