Sabadell’s sport continues to triumph all over the world and in every discipline. Last weekend, Dojo Sabadell shone at the IBK Ludovika World Cup, a Kyokushinkai competition. The city’s club participated in the event with three fighters in the kumite discipline — one in lightweight, one in middleweight, and one in heavyweight. Two of them lifted the trophy as world champions at the tournament held in Budapest, Hungary.
The young Roger Castella, making his debut in the senior category, was the only one who did not reach the top of the podium in the competition on Hungarian soil. Castella was eliminated in the first round of the lightweight division by the local fighter Balazs Hardi, who would go on to become the champion.
“We wanted him to debut in a high-level competition to gain experience in the category by fighting against the best. The goal wasn’t to win. Even so, he did very well and was eliminated because he faced a very strong opponent,” said Daniel Sánchez, owner and founder of the Dojo.
The victories came in the –80 kg and –90 kg categories, with a double world title achieved with great confidence and dominance. In the middleweight division, Juan Carlos Auge, who had already been a world champion years earlier, defeated Swiss fighter Armin Filan by knockout in the first round, then won by judges’ decision in the semifinals against Dutchman Floris Hoek, and finally knocked out Ruggero Cannevari from Kyokushin Alhaurín de la Torre – Dojo Olavi (Málaga) in the grand final.
The most dominant fighter of the entire tournament was, in the heavyweight category, Pol Salguero from Sabadell, who not only became champion and best fighter of the whole competition, but also gave no chance to any of his opponents with a spectacular performance. Salguero eliminated every opponent by knockout on his way to the trophy. He first defeated Hungarian Varjú Csaba, then earned his place in the final against Romanian Vlad Constantin, and finally became champion after knocking out Dutchman Rowan de Koning.
The Sabadell fighter, who already holds numerous European titles, debuted as absolute world champion, continuing the success of the world title he achieved as a junior.
“We knew there were possibilities, and our goal is always to get as close to victory as possible, but in such high-level competitions it’s always difficult — especially to win with such superiority as they showed. We’re very proud of our fighters and also of those coming up behind them. We have a very strong present and a promising future,” analyzed Sánchez about his dojo’s participation in Budapest.
In the coming months, they will once again compete in an international event, aiming to keep adding achievements and raising Sabadell’s sport to the highest level — once again — also in the martial arts.
Cinfi S.S. triumphs at the International Open in Malgrat de Mar
Meanwhile, in another martial art — taekwondo — another Sabadell club achieved excellent results at the International Open held in Malgrat de Mar.
Taekwondo Cinfi S.S. participated with several fighters, and three of them reached the podium in the senior category. Bárbara Matamoros delivered the best performance of the Sabadell delegation, winning gold. Noelia Barcos took silver, while Alan Barcos completed the medal trio with a bronze.
As a team, in the women’s category, the club from Sabadell placed second. In the youth divisions, Júlia de la Fuente finished fourth in pre-cadet, and Hugo Oliver narrowly missed the podium in the cadet category.
They were accompanied by coaches Candi Fortes and Cristina Salado.
