WINNERS

ELENA CHATZIILIADOU
Karate’s rise in popularity in Greece is no secret as there’s a dojo popping up around every corner in the suburbs of Athens. With that in mind, Elena Chatziiliadou’s recent success at the Premier League 1 that took place in Madrid, Spain, comes as no surprise. The young athlete was able to go all the way to the final of the 68+ category, missing out narrowly on the gold. This success comes just a few weeks after Stefanos Ksenos’ gold in the U21 World Tournament in Chile and confirms the great condition of the Greek athletes with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics just a few months away.

GEORGE MOUZAKITIS
The young Thai fighter was able to claim an impressive victory in England against local athlete Luke Hill, beating him with a fourth-round knock-out. Mouzakitis fought in the Muay Thai style and impressed the crowd with his performance. After the fight was over, he earned his coach Sam Mouzakitis’ praise, with the experienced trainer pointing out the professional manner of the victory and the attention to strategy by Manos through a post on Instagram.

MARIELLA FASOULA
In an American-dominated market, it’s difficult for an athlete of any other nationality to stand out. And yet, young Greek NCAA player Mariella Fasoula has done just that. Her quality inside the court is undeniable and her nomination for Player Of The Year is proof of that. Fasoula managed to achieve a record of 16 points and 7.4 rebounds per average playing for her team the Vanderbilt Commodores. The official announcement of the Top Player Of The Year in the NCAA will be made next April during the Final Four that will take place in New Orleans.

SINNERS

PAOK/XANTHI
The situation surrounding the two clubs after the revelations that recently came to light have shaken the entire Greek football world right to its core. According to the documents that were revealed, PAOK owner Ivan Savvidis funds a company that, in turn, maintains shares in fellow Super League club Xanthi. If this is actually true, then not only does it mean the automatic dismissal of both teams from the League, but it could also translate to the withdrawal of last season’s championship and cup trophies from the Thessaloniki club. On the other hand, the level of integrity behind these revelations is questionable, since they were made on Greek channel ONE, which belongs to Olympiacos owner Vangelis Marinakis. The situation continues…

CHRIS IKONOMIDIS
Not a lot to offer from last season’s most promising young player. To his defence, it’s not just him, but the entire Perth Glory team that are under-performing, but you would expect from a player of his quality to be able to make some sort of difference inside the pitch. Ikonomidis has managed to score two goals so far in the season and although he is a threat for opposition defences, his presence is never really felt. Either he’s going through a dry spell, or last season was a lucky break for him. Hopefully it’s the first.

PANAGIOTIS KONE
Speaking of underwhelming footballers, Panagiotis Kone seems to be going from bad to worse. It was bad enough that he’s not doing anything to justify all the noise surrounding his transfer that started all the way from last winter, but now he’s begun to show all the negative signs of his character. In his team’s Western United’s game against Sydney FC, he charged Luke Brattan, with the midfielder injuring his shoulder. Kone received a yellow card for the incident but strongly contested with the referee’s decision.