#77: Maltese Taekwondo Veteran Wins Gold In Wales
Just one week after securing gold in Germany, ITL coach Gianluca Barbara bagged another in Cardiff at the 5th Wales International Open.
The competition took place on the 22nd of June 2025 with Gianluca playing in the Masters - 80 kg. On the day, he worked closely with coach Dave Desforges of South Hams Taekwondo (a Plymouth-based taekwondo club). Desforges would coach Gianluca during the fight.
The ITL player drew T-TKD’s Finian Bout in the final of the group; a prominent veteran fighter who featured in last year’s British National Open. Gianluca already faced Bout last year in the 4th edition of the same tournament.
The fireworks began in match 429 with Bout pressing forward with a flurry of kicks. In the opening seconds of the first round, however, Gianluca caught Bout with a back-leg “dollyo chagi” (round kick) that hit the Englishman in the chin. Following a standing count, the referee declared that the opponent was unable to continue the fight.
You can check out the fight below:
This competition marks the second occasion ITL visited the beautiful city of Cardiff, with Gianluca Barbara and co-athlete Ashik Sunil Bindhu attending last year. The two came back with one gold and two bronze medals (having competed in three categories).
ITL thanks South Hams Taekwondo Plymouth (with coaches Dave and Katy), who assisted the athlete on the day.
And finally, a big thanks goes to Masters Paul Jones, of Wales Taekwondo, whose sublime management of the competition made it another to remember.
As a team, ITL finished 28th in the tournament overall (there were 37 teams in total), which is not bad considering only one player represented the team.
All competition results can be found by clicking here.
