Maltese National Athlete’s Dream Made Real After Donations Powered His First International Medal
When Malta welcomed Guinean Mamadou Balde, little had he known of what fate had in store for him.
And while it may have taken some blood, sweat, and the odd tear, who would have thought that there would come a day where Balde would achieve international honours for the Maltese Taekwondo national team?
The long was a road. But it all started with advice from a close friend.
“My best friend told me that I looked strong, so I should try a fighting sport. I thought it sounded exciting, so I accompanied him to a Taekwondo club,” Balde stated.
View this post on Instagram
He enrolled with a local martial arts club – Santa Venera Taekwondo – with the prospect of learning a new skill. And from the first day he walked in, he made an impression on his coaches that would last an eternity.
Standing six feet tall and a whopping 80kg of pure muscle, it was hard to neglect that there was something worth investing in.
With that in mind, the training began, sometimes up until the late hours of the night. In the process, Balde became one of the first athletes to be sponsored by the club. They, in turn, supplied him with training kits, equipment, and martial-arts robing otherwise known as a ‘Dobok’.
Coaches, friends, federation officials, and even parents of junior athletes joined hand in sponsoring Balde’s journey, fuelling his campaign into one that saw him become a Maltese national team player in 2020, after having overcome all opposition during Malta’s national open.
Eventually, he was even conscripted to the association’s National Taekwondo League. A ‘Premier League’-style fight club that sees him fight on a weekly basis. He is currently sitting in first place.
There was still much of the road not yet trodden on, but a lack of funding in the sporting sector posed a recurring obstacle for the athlete.
Presently, most athletes within the Taekwondo scene are self-funding their own competition campaigns, owing to the lack of grants players within this sport are eligible for.
However, with the turn of the year, Balde’s friends both at club and national level took matters into their own hands.
“We wanted to give him the opportunity he craved since he walked through these doors. An opportunity he deserved, but that eluded him for many months,” said Malta Taekwondo Association President, Anna Vassallo.
“We gathered a sum of money from a group of friends – persons in the federation, the club, and even the Olympic Committee, everyone. And we sent him to compete abroad. To the Esbjerg cup, in Denmark.”
It was the first International opportunity for the young Maltese, who took the challenge head-on, returning with a Bronze medal in the name of Malta.
Lovin Malta reached out to Balde, who with a smile on his face, was only too happy to share a few humble words.
“I cannot thank my coaches and my Taekwondo friends enough for the support have given me. I participated and won in the National Open and it was a great experience for me, and now I’ve placed third in Denmark.”
“I am thankful that I can represent Malta locally and abroad. Taekwondo has given me so much and I cannot wait to get back to my coach and teammates and start training again.”
Taekwondo is an Olympic sport, with a member base of around 70 million people worldwide, with Europe being one of the strongest zones in the world for practitioners.
It is similar to kickboxing but instead makes use of an electronic system wherein combatants score points by striking specific body zones, more often than not, by way of kicking.
Come December, Malta will be turned into a ‘fight island’ for the very first time, with the newly-formed Malta Taekwondo Association (MTA) hosting the country’s first-ever European Taekwondo Championships, for children aged 12-14 years.
With the sport growing ever greater, Mamadou’s road to glory could be just the beginning of a lucrative adventure. One that would see the country make a name for itself in the realm of international sport.
Share to show your support for Mamadou