Malta won its first gold medal of the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) which are currently being held in Andorra, as Jessica Vella triumphed in karate on Tuesday afternoon.
Vella, who is a 19-year-old physiotherapy student at the University of Malta, competed in the Women’s Kata class as the GSSE got underway on Tuesday morning.
She started the day by besting Aileen Sprenger, from Liechtenstein, with a score of 37.8 to 33.8, and followed that up with another strong win over Cecile Orrigo from Monaco, as she registered a score of 37.3 to Orrigo’s 32.7.
This meant that she topped her pool, setting up a semi-final with Maria Ubiergo from hosts Andorra. She successfully beat her opponent with a score of 38.4 to 36.8 – enough to make it to the final and be guaranteed a medal.
The Gold Medal Match saw her come up against Montenegro’s Mila Mrakovic, who had beaten opponents from Cyprus, Iceland, and Andorra in the pool stage and beat Sprenger from Liechtenstein in the semi-final.
However it was Vella who emerged victorious from the clash, as she registered a score of 39.1 to Mrakovic’s 37.8 – hence taking the gold medal home for Malta.
Vella was in many ways born into karate: her parents Michelle and Frankie Vella opened a karate club in the year 2000 and continue to coach there. Their daughter followed in their footsteps and remains a part of the same club.
Her preparation for the GSSE saw her place third in the Belgian Open and second in her Golden Belt category in a tournament in Serbia. She also competed in the European Championships, besting fighters from Turkey and Georgia on the way to a 9th place finish.