Katryna Esposito, the first Maltese athlete to compete in this year’s Olympic Games put on a fighting performance in her Games debut against Mongolian judoka Bavuudorjiin Baasankhüü in the round of 32 at the Paris Olympics on Saturday 27th July. Making her debut in the -48kg class at the Olympics, Esposito was up against the newly crowned World Judo Champion but still produced a strong and unfazed performance at the Champ de Mars Arena. Esposito’s attacking tactics forced Baasankhuu to commit two successive infringements, which put the Mongolian just one yellow card away from suffering a shock defeat, However, Baasankhuu used all her experience to strike late on with a second wazari to take the contest via an ippon. Baasankhuu progressed into the competition, finishing her Games with a silver medal. Commenting after her bout, Aurelian Ciprian Fleisz, Esposito’s coach remarked that  “We leave today with our head held high, but with a broken soul.  We end these games with honour, which we hope can bring good things for both judo and Sport in Malta, for the future. I am proud of Katryna, of her involvement both today on the mat and throughout the entire qualification process. It has been a difficult road in which she exceeded her limits, and has been pushing herself hard.  It was an honor to fight with current world champion, she lost today but I’m sure this defeat will help to fuel and motivate her and bring her future success.” The Maltese Olympic Committee expressed their pride at Esposito’s performance, remarking that her fighting performance brought about a historic result for Malta as she delivered one of the highest technical performances ever. Team Malta in Paris is supported by Sport Malta, NDSF, APS Bank, National Lottery, Olympic Solidarity and KM Malta Airlines