Young Andreas Pantelides, nicknamed 'Python', is one of the medallists ready to compete at the 2024 GAMMA European Championships in Slovakia this week in the -70.3kg under-18 category.

The GAMMA European Championships will be held in one of Slovakia's main tourist destinations, Vysoké Tatry, located in the High Tatras mountain range of the European country, and will follow the last GAMMA European Championships which took place in Georgia in 2022.

The 16-year-old won a bronze medal at the inaugural GAMMA U18 World Championships held in his country last year. In 2023, Greece organised the championship through the MMA division of the Hellenic Wrestling Federation and the young athlete was crowned champion in front of his home crowd last September.

Coming from the city of Alexandroupolis, where the Youth World Championships took place, and training at the MMA Alexandroupolis gym under the guidance of his father, Aris Pantelides, the European will be the first GAMMA tournament abroad for Andreas, which will be a greater challenge for this young prospect who has achieved a 3-1 amateur MMA record outside of GAMMA.

The young man comes from a family dedicated to this speciality, combining techniques from different martial arts and combat sports for years. His ancestors were wrestling masters and champions, and this has naturally had an impact on the young Greek, who proudly says: "Wrestling and martial arts in general run through my veins.

With his father as his coach, he began mixed martial arts at a young age. His influence was such that he sees it as part of his own life. "From that day on, I understood that MMA was the perfect sport for me.”

As time went on, not only did it become part of his life, but he also began to intensify his training outside of school. Following the Greek principle of "a healthy mind in a healthy body", he knows that sacrifice will take him far in sport, as it will in life. He doesn't deny that there have been times when he has had to sacrifice outings with friends or time to relax in order to make progress, but he also knows that the effort is worth it.

In an interview with GAMMA, the young man, who was born just 40 km from the Turkish border, did not hesitate to talk about the goals and challenges that lie ahead of him. "The biggest challenge I've had to face is the GAMMA World Championship, which will take place in September 2023. What still keeps me motivated is the goal of winning the gold medal in GAMMA World MMA."

To achieve this, he knows he has to train hard. "My training is very professional, with four coaches, a nutritionist and a physiotherapist looking after me".

His goal is gold, and he is not shying away from it. "I am proud and honoured to represent my country at the highest level of European MMA," affirms the young man, whose only ambition is to win gold: "My goal is to win the gold medal."

As for his medium-term future, he also took the time to reflect and dream big. "To become the MMA World Champion with GAMMA and to get a professional MMA contract with ONE Championship," he declared. Aside from MMA, he enjoys swimming, playing chess and admiring nature through hiking.

The 2024 GAMMA European Championships, which will be streamed live on GAMMA's Facebook and YouTube pages from Tuesday 14th May, will feature the first ever inclusion of an under-18 test in a continental championship.