Silver and Bronze for Evolution Kickboxer at the WAKO Kickboxing Senior European Championships 2022
The week of Saturday 12th November to Sunday 20th November saw the WAKO Kickboxing Senior European Championships 2022 held in Antalya, Turkey. Nesta Baxter, 22, from Evolution Martial Arts in Boston travelled to Turkey with the Great Britain Team to represent her country.
The European Championships were held Turkey this year with 976 competitors from 39 countries in attendance. Nesta had been successfully selected to represent Great Britain following winning the National British Titles in February and succeeding at the National Team squad trainings and selections throughout the year. Nesta was able to compete in two categories which is an achievement to be selected for two separate disciplines at a European level.
Nesta competed in the Senior Female -65kg Light Continuous and Senior Female -65kg Kick Light categories. Nesta achieved a Silver in the Kick Light and Bronze in the Light Continuous at the Senior European Championships.
Nesta pictured with WAKO Team Great Britain Coaches, Head Coach and President
Following a successful weigh in and medical assessment on the Saturday and the Opening Ceremony on the Sunday, the competition commenced on Monday. Nesta had two preliminary rounds to compete in on the first day of the competition. Firstly, Nesta competed against an athlete from Hungary in the Light Continuous category, following an exciting match, Nesta progressed to the next round. The preliminary round for Nesta’s Kick Light was against an athlete from Bosnia Herzegovina where Nesta finished with a unanimous win and progressed into the next round.
Tuesday was the day of Quarter Finals, in the Kick Light category Nesta fought against an athlete from Turkey which was a tough fight but after a great performance, Nesta made her way into the Semi Finals. In the Light Continuous category, Nesta fought against an athlete from Spain, following another tough fight it was Nesta who won by unanimous decision allowing her to progress to the Semi Finals.
Following a rest day for Nesta, Thursday was the day of the Semi Finals. First, Nesta fought in her Kick Light Semi Final against an athlete from Lichtenstein, the fight was exciting and Nesta progressed to the Final with a unanimous decision. Nesta’s second Semi Final in the Light Continuous category was against an athlete from Slovenia, after a close fight Nesta lost on a split decision and finished her Light Continuous category with a Bronze Medal at the European Championships.
The Final of Nesta’s Kick Light was held on the Friday against the Current World Champion from Hungary. The fight was great and Nesta gave her everything, but it was the Hungarian who finished with the win. Nesta came away with a well-deserved Silver Medal at the European Championships in her Kick Light Category.
WAKO Team Great Britain at the WAKO European Kickboxing Championships 2022
Nesta would like to thank her Coaches, her sparring partners and training partners for the excellent preparation ahead of the Championships. A special thank you to everyone who sent their support and well wishes. Thank you to everyone who donated to help Nesta be able to attend the championships and to her sponsors Grimme UK and Plug Me In.