The European University Championship has officially begun, covering for the first time in history four sports - kickboxing, judo, karate, and taekwondo. Kickboxing matches were fought by 197 competitors from 101 Universities and 19 countries. Men fought 13 categories and women in 9.  

Qualifying and quarterfinal fights in both competitions were held today at the “Dom sportova” Hall and tomorrow we are expecting semifinals in the ring and the tatami and the final fights on the tatami.

Ladislav Polasek from the Czech Technical University in Prague in the -74kg category met with Thomas Bowen from the UK. 

"This was my first match at the European University Championships. I was nervous, it was my first fight ever which made me so hard. I hope more people come to cheer on us”, Polasek said.

Baxter Nesta from Newcastle University fights in the category under 65 kilos and hopes she will get a medal. “It was a very good match. She challenged me all the way. She gave me a lot of things to think about. It is my first time here and I hope for podium position if not getting gold”, said Nesta after her first match.  

Edin Vučelj from the University of Sarajevo competes in the -84kg category and in the first round he beat Athanasios Katsikis from the Technical University of Crete.

“Since I normally compete in WAKO competitions, I expect to win these fights today and advance to tomorrow's semifinals. Otherwise, I do lite and a kick lite in which I am the first in the world rankings. In light contact, I will perform for the  Bosnia and Herzegovina national team at the World Championships which will be held in Sarajevo in October. The main goal is to win, as always", Vučelj said.

All results and schedule are available on https://results.eusa.eu/index.php?page=index&sport=27&multi=45 .