The sixth edition of the European University Games, held this summer in the Polish city of Lodz, has left a balance of 5 medals for the team of athletes from the Universitat de València, who gave their all competing against the best athletes from European universities. 

The European University Games is the largest multi-sport academic event in Europe, the flagship championship of the UESA (European University Sports Association), held every two years in a different European city. Approximately 5,000 athletes from 40 countries and 400 universities participated in the 2022 edition. 

The Universitat de València was present in this competition with a team of 100 people, including athletes, trainers and coaches, and preparation, sports delegation and support staff.  The athletes represented the UV in 8 sports: chess, climbing, handball, judo, karate, kickboxing, taekwondo and volleyball.

Taekwondo

The taekwondist of the Universitat de València Paula Temina was proclaimed European University champion in the senior category under 53 kilos. At the age of 20, Paula combines her daily training sessions of between 2 and 3 hours with her physiotherapy studies. The student from the Universitat de València, who lives in Paiporta, won gold after beating three rivals in the preliminary rounds and in the final, where she defeated her Slovenian opponent.

The rest of the taekwondo team, under the guidance of their coach, Estefanía Almela, had a great competition. Neus Doménech, in the -73kg category, she finished fifth. And Jorge Díaz, in -74kg, also finished the championship in 5th place.

Judo

The Chemistry student and member of the Universitat de València judo team, Luis Barroso, won the bronze medal in the -60kg category after beating judoists from the University of Szeged (Hungary), Brno (Czech Republic) and Leipzig (Germany), until he lost in the semi-finals to the representative of the University of Coimbra (Portugal) in a thrilling fight. 

The judo team from the Universitat de València, led by Vicente Rochela, competed on the tatami against the best European university students in this sport. In the -66 category, Guillermo Caprani finished in 20th place after suffering an injury at the start of the competition. Aitor Goicoechea (-73 kg) was 13th and Juan David Gadea (-73 kg) 17th. In the women's competition, in the -48 kg category, Laura Torregrosa was 5th. 

Kickboxing

UV kickboxing fighter Kevin Koffi won the silver medal at the European University Games. At the age of 24, this young student from Utiel combines his kickboxing training and competitions with his studies at the Faculty of Teacher Training. Under the guidance of his coach Patrik Pascal, he had a great competition in the Kick Light -84kg. 

Kevin easily beat the fighters from the universities of Berne (Switzerland) and Budapest (Hungary), and fought for the gold in a very close final, in which he finished in a creditable second place, runner-up of the European University Games.

Climbing

The climber of the Universitat de València, Iker Ortiz, won gold in speed and bronze in the difficulty climbing category. Iker arrived in Lodz very cautious, he told us in a previous interview that he didn’t see himself with a chance of a medal in the sprint event: “in the Valencian Community we don’t have any climbing wall with the characteristics of the official sprint events, so I haven’t been able to train this modality”. Despite this handicap, Iker spent a lot of time training leg strength to gain agility and power and to be competitive in speed, an effort that seems to have paid off, as Iker Ortiz finished in first position, improving his best time in speed.

UV climber Congost Escoin also had a great competition, finishing 17th in difficulty and 16th in bouldering.

Handball

The UV men’s and women’s handball teams, under the orders of their coaches Sagrario Santana and Juan Ángel Perdigón, fought match by match against the best teams from European universities. The men’s team finished the championship in 5th position and the women’s team is 10th. Regardless of the result, the 28 UV handball players did their best and achieved one of their main objectives: “to enjoy this European experience, an unforgettable moment, a unique opportunity for many”, they confessed in the previous interview.

Karate

The UV karate team, under the guidance of their coach Rubén Rubio, did not have their best competition and lost in the first rounds. Karate matches are elimination matches from the very first moment, as karateka Hugo Ballester told us in a previous interview: “In the first round is impossible not to get nervous. In football you have 90 minutes to fix mistakes, but in karate you have a first fight that lasts 3 minutes and if you lose it, the competition is over,” Hugo, who fought in Lodz in the kumite modality, told us. The rest of the Universitat de València karate team was completed by Patrícia Peso (-50), Iván Ferrer (-84) and Víctor Rubio (-75).

Chess

UV chess players José Joaquín Fernández and Adrián Galiana, following the guidelines of their coach Ramón García, represented the Universitat de València at the University Games in Lodz, where they got the 11th position in the Blitz tournament and the 16th in rapid, both in the team category. In individual, Adrián finished 16th and José Joaquín 26th. 

Volleyball

UV volleyball players gave their all at the European University Games in Lodz. Under the orders of their coach Juan José Susin, assistant coach Marina Linares, and with the support of physio Javier Piqueras, both teams did a great job in Lodz. The women’s team finished the championship in 13th place, and the men’s team in 8th place. 

• Full results of the European University Games on the EUSA website
• More information about the European University Games on the UVEsports website