Success in European competition for Nottingham combat athletes

On the back of a stellar season in BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) competition - where the University of Nottingham Karate team firmly cemented the university as the best in the country - the team travelled across Europe to test themselves against the best the continents universities has to offer.

With athletes competing in both team and individual competitions across men's and women's categories, the #GreenandGold headed into the tournament with confidence - particularly our Women's Kata team who reached the European final one year ago.

This year the team comprised of Amelia Clow, Jessica Maitland, and Eve Holdsworth and they would draw Eotvos Lorand University of Budapest in the semi-finals. The trio delivered an assured performance to take victory, and securing another Women's Kata final where they would face the University of Porto. In a closely contested affair, the Portuguese team would emerge as victors on the day, but Clow, Maitland and Houldsworth all return from the tournament with a very well deserved silver medal. 

There would also be success for our male athletes in team competition, however this time in the Team Kumite. James Walker, Ashton Patrick, and Edward Mulhall would secure wins against the University of Zagreb in the quarter-final (2-0), and Istanbul Kent University in the semi-final (2-1) to secure another final berth for the University of Nottingham. Standing in their way of gold would be student athletes from Istanbul Aydin University, and in a closely contested final it would be victory for the side from Turkey. However, the University of Nottingham's medal tally added another highly impressive silver.

Moving into the individual competitions, Ashton Patrick and James Walker would both add to their team medal with some fantastic efforts in Kumite competition. Patrick, competing in the Men's -84kg would go on to claim bronze, defeating Melos Gashi from the Albanian University Fan Noli in the bronze medal match. James Walker would achieve the same impressive feat by winning both his round two and quarter-final matches to advance to the semi-final. In another very close contest, it would be his opponent who would go on to win eventual gold, but Walker's strong performances earned him another medal - this time bronze.

Meanwhile, Nottingham also realised success in the Taekwondo competition as the versatile Kate Hambleton took on Esra Akbulak from Istanbul Aydin University in the semi-finals of the Kyorugi Women’s tournament +73 kg. Despite a spirited performance, Kate did not advance but deservedly took home bronze, bringing the University of Nottingham's medal total at the 2025 European University Combat Championships to an impressive five (two silvers and three bronze).

Reflecting on the performances of our University of Nottingham athletes, Karate Club President Amelia Clow said "I am really proud of the team and the hard work everyone put in leading up to this competition. We saw some great results, made big improvements, and most importantly, kept a strong, supportive team atmosphere throughout. We are really excited to build on this in the year ahead."

The team will be back in the Dojo this September to prepare for another big season in BUCS competition, and we wish all of our athletes and coaches the best of luck for the challenges ahead.

Notes for editors

University of Nottingham are the top UK University for team sport, placing 2nd in the overall British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings in the 2024/25 season. For more information on our performance sport offer, including scholarships and support for student athletes, please click here.