Kildare kickboxers make their mark on Euro stage

Three young kickboxers from Carbury each played a huge role in helping their sport take a major step forward on the road towards Olympic Games inclusion earlier this month.

Conor McGlinchey, Nathan Tait and Luke McCann, who all hail from Carbury accounted for no less than a third of the Ireland kickboxing squad that was fielded in the 2023 European Games in Poland.

Both Tait and McGlinchey stormed to silver medal wins in that event which marked kickboxing’s debut on this stage and provided the ultimate platform on which to showcase its potential to figure among the Olympic Games line-up, hopefully in Los Angeles 2028.

All three fighters had secured their respective point fighting berths on the Team Ireland panel after following up national title wins with top-eight finishes at last November’s WAKO European Championships in Turkey.

McGlinchey, himself, finished runner-up at the Europeans, cutting weight from 89kg down to 84kg in order to ensure he could compete for one of the male point fighting spots that would be included on the European Games programme.

“Personally, cutting weight isn’t too big of an issue for me, but to hold a weight that is not naturally yours, it takes a lot of dedication” McGlinchey told The Leinster Leader.

It was a move that certainly paid off for the 23-year-old TMA competitor as he secured his place in the European Games 84kg decider following superb wins over Erik Zorn of Slovenia and Italy’s Riccardo Albanese.

That set the UCC law student up for a meeting with Gabriel Sandro Peters, who had beaten him by maximum score in the European Final eight months before.

McGlinchey certainly had a point to prove, and while he again finished second best to his German rival in Poland, the thrilling 16-15 margin at the finish demonstrated just how much he had narrowed the gap.

“Peters has burst on to the scene in the last few years and he’s proven to be one of the best international fighters at the moment” admitted McGlinchey.

“He beat me in the European Final last year. He beat me by a maximum score and that was my first ever time getting beaten like that.

“It was a very big blow to my confidence and I really struggled for a good few weeks after that competition. It was a hard one to swallow, but I’m too stubborn to leave it there.

“After that I sat down with my coaches, Dave Heffernan and Martin Bannon, and we delved into the fight and we put together a plan this time around and it was executed well.

“I was leading for the entire fight, but unfortunately in the last few seconds he tipped the scales his way.

“Still, I was much happier with my preparation and performance for this one than I was last year and I know the next one is going to be in my favour.

“But to be standing on the podium at the European Games, it was amazing. Obviously the gold medal is what I want and to be listening to our national anthem.

“But I have to reflect and see how far I’ve come in the last few years and really, standing on that podium, it brought it home that I’ve come so far, and it was just a reminder that I’m not finished yet” he stressed.

Tait, meanwhile, went one step better on the bronze medal he landed at last year’s Europeans when he too took second place on the podium after losing out to Hungary’s Martin Balint in the 74kg Point Fighting decider.

The Hurricane MA fighter had carded a comfortable victory over Danylo Mancari of Switzerland in the penultimate rounds and was delighted to return home with a medal.

“I didn’t really put too much expectation on myself” said Tait. “Coming into it, I would have been very happy to get to the podium.

“For us to be even thinking about fighting on any kind of Olympic stage is crazy, and going out there, the first 30 seconds is a bit nerve-wracking because you’re on the biggest stage you can get to at this moment in the sport.

“But you can’t let the stage get to your head, you can’t let any of that stuff take your mind off the fight, because that’s when things will go wrong.

“Last year was the qualifiers for the European Games and I came away with third place in my first ever Senior European Championships.

“Now I’ve come second in the European Games, so I’m really happy with how it’s gone so far” he smiled.

Lining out in the 63kg Point Fighting division, McCann fell short of a podium finish when he lost out to the very experienced Hungarian, Richard Veres.

“It was my first time competing at that level and I only turned 20 the day before I fought, so it was a lot to take in at once” sighed McCann.

“I fought him (Veres) before a few times and I fought World and European Championships. The nerves never got in the way. But going out on that stage and seeing family, the rest of your team and the crowd, it was a bit overwhelming at the start.

“I had a solid game plan going out, but for whatever reason, I underperformed out there. I gave the fight everything I could, but my ability was only 60 percent” he said.

Still the Kildare man, who finished sixth at last year’s Europeans, fully appreciated the value of the European Games experience and just what it meant for Carbury to boast three of its own in that competition.

“The European Olympic Games was a monumental moment for us” he said. “It’s definitely unheard of for any sport to have three people from the same place going to an Olympic event.

“Like our whole village is less than two kilometres long and it’s just great that the three of us were able to get the three (male point fighting) spots there. It was definitely a dream.”