From October 13 to 21, the European Kickboxing Championships were held in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. A soldier from the armored brigade, Senior Corporal Eliasz Jankowski, took part in them. The non-commissioned officer from the self-propelled artillery squadron traveled to the competition intending to prove to everyone that he was capable of achieving a great deal. And that is exactly what happened. The determined artilleryman showed that the hours spent training and liters of sweat shed had not been in vain.
Representatives of 35 countries took part in this year's European Championships. The competition was therefore considerable. Senior Corporal E. Jankowski of the 2nd Self-Propelled Artillery Battery, the reigning Polish champion, was selected by the Polish Kickboxing Association for this competition.
The artilleryman from the Świętoszów unit competed in the up-to-67-kilogram weight category. After progressing through the preliminary bouts, the soldier from the self-propelled artillery squadron faced a representative of Ukraine in the quarterfinal. In this bout, the determined artilleryman won by a judges' decision of 3:0.
In the semifinal, he crossed gloves with a representative of France. This time, too, the Pole's victory left no doubt. Another 3:0 result for the representative of the White and Reds.
In the final, Senior Corporal Jankowski faced a highly decorated competitor from Serbia. After a closely fought bout, the judges gave the decision to the Serbian. The soldier from the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade had to acknowledge his opponent's superiority. However, finishing second on the podium at such a prestigious competition is a major achievement.
The title of WAKO European vice-champion is certainly a reason to be proud. Congratulations on the result, and we wish him further victories in the ring.