Nicole Perona will be among the more than 2,400 athletes from 81 countries at the start of the Wako Kickboxing World Championship to be held in Jesolo on Saturday. In Veneto, transformed for ten days into the capital of combat sports, the 27-year-old blue will be one of the athletes to beat. Her palmares are clear: two world titles, three Europeans, fifteen cup successes and more than forty national titles (just to name a few) make her the most feared and formidable opponent. «On the experience front it is certainly like this: I have been fighting for many years and since 2009 I have been wearing the blue jersey – says Perona -. In the various specialties I have always given my all and now, after almost two years of forced stoppage by Covid, we have a great desire to start again ». The Biella fighter will be engaged on the tatami in the Light Contact -55 kg. «It is my historical specialty, the one I started from and where nine years ago in Bratislava I collected my first world laurel. Perhaps it is not the favorite, because the ring remains, but it is certainly the one that has given me the greatest awards and results ».
Perona cannot have half measures and the goal is to aim for the three of a kind. “I know it won’t be easy. We will be fourteen at the start: I don’t know all the athletes, but the Austrian Sonja Stracher beat me in Budapest three weeks ago. In the past I have also had to deal with the Norwegian Yvonne Murray, an athlete with a lot of experience, having in addition to her a considerable height ».
Guillermina Barat (Argentina), Lucia Feckova (Slovakia), Sarina Fux (Switzerland), Kalina Koleva (Bulgaria), Adrianna Krygier (Great Britain), Martha Manousakidou (Greece), Sara Pesut (Croatia), Sultan Saglam complete the list of entries. (Turkey), Katja Semberg (Denmark), Kinga Szlachcic (Poland) and Karina Valeeva (Russia). «I arrive comforted by the good tests in Hungary, in which I managed to play eight matches in close time – she continues -. After two years of hiatus it was an excellent test, which made me realize that I was on the right path. I corrected some details together with my coach (and life partner, ed) Ivan Sciolla: without him nothing would have been possible in recent years and surely I would have already hung up my gloves for who knows how long. He has always believed in me, managing to prepare me in the best possible way, which I hope to have done on this occasion too ». Perona will leave for Jesolo on Saturday morning at dawn. «In the afternoon I will have to undergo a swab and then there will be a weight check – concludes the athlete from Biella -. On Sunday I will be able to do some light training, relax and wait for the draw. The first meeting could come on Monday, or more likely Tuesday. There is always a bit of performance anxiety, but by now I am starting to consider myself a veteran ». The Jesolo World Championships will be valid as a qualifying competition for the World Games scheduled in Alabama, in the United States and the World Combat Games (Asia): events scheduled for 2022.