Neus Domenech is already packing her suitcase to travel to Poland, where she will compete against the best taekwondists form European universities on 29th and 30th July. This young girl from Alberic will represent the Universitat de València together with her teammates Paula Temina and Jorge Díaz, and under the guidance of her coach, Estefanía Almela. The UV team arrives at the event after having won 3 medals in combat at the Spanish University Championships (CEU) held last May.

Neus won bronze in the middleweight category (-73 kg) at the national university tournament. A medal with which she put the finishing touch to a great season, in which she also took silver in the Valencian Community’s senior competition. In the 20-21 season she was proclaimed U21 regional champion and, at national level, she achieved an eighth position in the senior championship. But these are only the latest successes in the promising career of this 19-year-old taekwondist, who was for three consecutive years’ bronze medallist of Spain in the Junior category.

The young girl from Alberic started practising this martial art at the age of 8, “I didn’t like other sports and my father knew the taekwondo coach, so he suggested me to try it and I loved it”, recalls Neus. Her leap as an athlete was forged in the Planes de Especialización of Cheste, and she currently trains at the Garrut Club in Alberic, and at the Tarongers Campus with the Universitat de València taekwondo team. “Throughout the year I train two days at the UV, technical and tactical – especially kicks – and physical, and hour and a half. Some Fridays I also train for 2 hours. And the other two days I go running or I do weights”, says Neus. She combines this demanding sporting routine with her studies at the UV, where she is a student of the Degree in Primary School Education in the Faculty of Teacher Training

“Taekwondo is a very complete sport, not only do you learn to defend yourself, but you also work on elasticity, strength, coordination, resistance, improve your reflexes...” explains Neus. But this martial art not only has physical benefits, “taekwondo has taught me a lot of discipline and respect. You have to salute your opponent and his/her coach, even though you’re fighting with them the whole round”, explains Neus, “it’s also given me peace of mind, because I know that if I need to defend myself I’ll know how to do it. And healthy lifestyle habits, because to compete at this level I need to have a diet and sports routine that keeps me active and in top shape,” adds the young university student.

This warrior from Alberic assures that taekwondo is a very egalitarian sport in which no distinction is made between the sexes, “obviously it is different to see men and women compete, in the same way that it is totally different to see women’s bouts at different weights. At the end of the day in taekwondo we compete by weight, and the fighting style and techniques used by a bantamweight are much different from those used by a 100-kilo fighter. But there’s no discrimination. At least, I’ve never felt that way”, says Neus. “It’s true that society still seems to associate combat sports with men, and that needs to change, so it’s important to show that we also fight, that we make podiums, that we win medals and that we are as good as or better than any man in martial arts”.

Neus Domenech faces the final stretch of the European University Games in Lodz without major changes in her preparation. “I’m still maintaining my training routines, although I’m focusing more on strength, on the physique, because outside Spain you need a lot of physique”, she explains, “and mentally I’m working on improving my sensations and gaining confidence because sometimes I go out on the mat and hesitate, and that’s because I lack confidence”, she adds.

"I'm a bit nervous, because I haven't competed outside Spain for a long time", Neus confesses, "but at the same time I'm really looking forward to competing in Poland", she admits. For the Primary School Education student, this is her second time competing in an international championship. Before Covid-19, she competed in the European Championship in Greece with the Taekwondo Federation of the Valencian Community, “I was 16 years old, in the junior category, with the University is the first time I compete outside Spain, I imagine there will be a high level, and it is inevitable to be a little nervous, but I will try to get as far as possible in the games a fight for a medal”, she assures

In addition to making the podium, Neus is clear that her goals at the Lodz Games is to enjoy the experience and come back with extra motivation: “competing outside Spain is very interesting, it’s a great experience, because each country has its own techniques, the competitive climate is different, you learn a lot and, above all, it motivates you. I came back from the European Championships in Greece with my motivation sky high, it was incredible, I got a fourth place but I left there with my batteries very charged, because after the competition you reflect, you mentally repeat fights, techniques... and you realise that you could have moved up a place, or won a fight, if you had done this or that... and that drives you to strive and continue training harder to improve". And that pushes you to make an effort and keep training harder to improve", concludes the Universitat de València taekwondist, who on 29th and 30th July will have the opportunity to demonstrate her mental strength and intense sporting discipline at the University Games in Lodz.

• Further information about the  European University Games on the UVSports website
• Visit the official website of Lodz games