Victorian TKD Sparring Championships
Wednesday June 9, 2010 2:58AM
COURAGE, discipline and determination go along way in the world of Taekwondo...and with competition mode now well and truly in session, specators and supporters attending the 2010 Victorian Open TKD Sparring Championships got to enjoy plenty of live TKD sporting action from both our coloured and black belt junior and senior fighters.
The State Netball & Hockey Stadium in Parkville once again staged the titled event hosted by Taekwondo Victoria, with coloured belt fights on Saturday 29th May and the more experienced black belt competitors sparring on Sunday 30th May. Being an 'open' championships, these games attracted many interstate teams as well as active Victorian Clubs...making the contest all the more interesting and challenging in preparation for upcoming nationals in October.
WELL DONE to all our fighters for when 'heart' counts, we make it matter every time! Fairing well with a 60% win : 40% loss ratio Tournament Team Manager, Jerry Ismail couldn't be happier with the way our team's currently traveling, with those putting in the most, gaining all the benefits on match day. CWT submitted 24 entrants across junior blue belt division through to senior black. And as always, it was great to see so many supporters in good stead to cheer on our fight team to success. But it's our 'Senior Raptors' who dominated most of the weekend's play, possibly making these one of the most memorable state championships yet! WHERE TO BEGIN???
DAY 1 - COLOURED BELTS
Aspiring young 'Side Kicks' - 8yrs old Nathan Marley and 9yrs old Kelvin Camilleri were typically in top form on Saturday in their respective blue and red belt divisions. Both convincingly winning their first fights to progress to the finals. Although in the end...both narrowly losing their final bouts to take home 2nd place - Silver medals. WELL DONE boys!!!
Good to see our 'Junior Mights' all fighting fit, with majority players successfully making it through their first fights, moving onto the semi-finals and some even advancing through to the finals.
First time competitor - 9yrs old red belt, Marko Trifkovic appeared to have the CWT crowd excited with his mighty powerful kicks and punches...eliminating any doubt in the mind of the judges! Successfully winning his first fight 7:3 points, he then managed to draw his final opponent 1:1 even, only to lose on 4th round sudden death challenge. Silver medal result nonetheless...and what a determined little fighter he is!
As it turned out...11yrs old red belt champion Joe Pedarse had the greatest sustain power in the Junior Mights...annihilating all three of his Victorian counterparts in the red belt male 35-40kg division. First opponent 13:3 points; Second opponent 16:4 points; and final opponent 4:1 points to take out the division, winning GOLD! TOTALLY awesome effort by this young quiet achiever...ON YA JO!!!
Unfortunately, 12yrs old Bailey Lewis failed to beat his old Queensland foe from nationals last year in the red belt male 31-35kg division, where he narrowly lost 2 points to 1, taking Silver. Whilst 12yrs old chum Joseph Harsley did well to earn a Silver medal in the male red 12/13yrs 50-55kgs division, making it to the finals where he was simply outclassed by a more experienced player to lose 5 points to 10.
...and junior teammates Jamison Biden and Thomas Goldburg also both lost their first fights, resulting in Bronze medals, despite Thomas' super close finish in the 4th round sudden death contest which saw him narrowly defeated 2 points to 3. One thing for certain...when push comes to shove, you've definitely got it in you old Tom!
Of particular highlight for us all on Saturday night were our intermediate and senior players...displaying great solidarity, discipline, endurance, but above all...heart! Although it really was a matter of "where to look first" across 5 operative courts - CWT fighters, coaches and supporters inclusive...having just weathered the calm before the storm (juniors)...tornado was definitely fast approaching (seniors)!!!
Making her debut...weighing in U50kgs, 15yrs old blue belt, April Chisholm accepted the challenge to 'fight' in a lower weight division (rather than be unopposed in her true division); dropping a few kilos to qualify a match. Up against a more aggressive and experienced player, April did well to at least get one score on her fierce opponent - 1 point to 6...finishing second place to earn Silver.
Competing in 14/17yrs female red belt 49-52kgs division, Emma O'Boyle also came up against a real gun of a player from SA, who controlled most of the play. Even with giving it her best shot, it simply wasn't to be...with Emma going down 1:7 with TKO finish for Silver.
Young Taner Ismail received Bronze, losing his first fight which eliminated him from further contest in the 14/17yrs male red belt 59-63kgs division.
Whilst 15yrs old teammate Adrian Abela seemed to do it rather easily in the male red 14/17yrs 51-55kgs division, annihilating his first opponent 14:0; and second opponent 10:0 to take out 1st place GOLD. Although, hopefully one day soon, Adrian will be inspired to graduate to black belt, where the competition level will surely lift a notch or two!!
Undefeated red belt champion, Angelyn Boado copped the worst result of the day. Despite clearly leading her opponent 5 points : 0 in the female red belt 14/17yrs 55-59kgs division, reoccuring knee injury prevented her from continuing on, forcing her to bow out graciously and surrender her lead before venturing to hospital for treatment. GET WELL SOON Ange...although we all know too well, this courageous young fighter has more grunt in her than the average lion. Hopefully she'll be back soon, even better and stronger than before to redeem her untarnished fight record!
TALK about back-to-back finishes...when the going gets tough, the tough get going!!!
Unleashing his flip side, 18yrs old blue belt rising star, Jaka Bambang was simply amazing in his fight against a fellow Victorian in the open male blue 58-63kgs division. Clearly losing the first 3 minute round, Jaka skillfully managed to turn the fight around during Round 2...pegging back his opponent to evenutally draw points, before smashing his opponent for 6 and out in Round 3...winning GOLD with 14 points : 7 victory. If only HE could hear the amazing crowd...TOTALLY electrifying energy!
Senior blue belt, Rupin Mendiratta surely had a fight on his hands, taking on a mixed martial arts expert from SA in the open male blue 68-74kgs division. His opponent was clearly above Rupin's rank, although we can proudly say he did well to hold his own, despite copping some damming head kicks. In the end, Coach - Troy deemed it simply safer and smarter to pull the pin, with the fight stopped 3:18 - Bronze medal result. Chin up Rupin...this is when you need to crank up the volume and train even harder!
With Joshua De Stefano's first opponent pulling out of contention, this placed him straight into finals position, where he was able to finally make his fighting debut in the open male red belt 63-68kgs division. Slowly adjusting to contest, atmosphere and instruction, Josh entered the 2nd round losing convincingly 1:10 points. Applying himself wholeheartedly, he improved 2nd round, keeping his opponent scoreless whilst gaining 6 points himself, bringing the game to a more even contest, although still losing 7:10 points. Now with a real fight to contend, it soon became apparent to all, Josh was a confidence player; and warming with every encounter, he somehow secured a draw result at end of Round 3 with 12:12 points, forcing the match to 'sudden death' Round 4. AND with absolutely no fight experience to rely on...just good skills, great coaching in Frank and growing confidence within himself, Josh scored the winning point to actually take out the fight...his first GOLDEN victory! What an amazing display of heart, belief and persistance...really, who would have thought glory was possible for Joshua considering end of Round 1 scores? Simply amazing effort and performance by this young upcoming champ! WELL DONE!!!
AND savouring the return...making his come back to the fighting arena after a long, long break was red belt sensation, Justin Scriha. Thrashing his first opponent in the open male red 68-74kgs division 29 points : 3, he successfully advanced straight to finals, where he came across a more experienced and highly competitive fighter. Clearly both in it to win it, Justin showcased (to a stadium full of onlookers and supporters) the benefits of his extreme hard work and solid commitment to TKD training this year. What can we say other than SUPERBLY EXECUTED Justin...beating his finals opponent in the end 27:14 to win his first GOLD medal in red belt division. WAY TO GO!!!
DAY 2 - BLACK BELTS
Opening up the games - 18yrs old Keisha Walsh competed in the open female black 73kgs + division. Leading her opponent the entire match, it was great to see Keisha set herself up early for the win, taking out the semi-final 8 points to 6. Progressing to the final, she eventually met her match in a stronger, faster and more confident player from SA. In spite of her best efforts, she was happy to settle for Silver, losing 2 points to 11.
Last minute decider, Stace Johnson took up the challenge in the open male 58-63kgs division. Comfortably advancing through the division, beating his first opponent 14:8; receiving a bye second bout placed him straight into finals contention, where he opposed rating 1 champion, Taner Hikmet. Unable to let loose and rise to the challenge, Stace simply underperformed in the final to lose 3:13 points - Silver medal finish nonetheless...Fair effort!
Competing across 2 divisions (intermediate & open), Olivia Karvounis used her first fight in the open female black 49-53kgs division as a warm up. Losing the fight 2:9 awarded her the Silver medal, but more so, enabled her to fully focus on her true division, 14/17yrs female black 49-52kgs, where she beat her first opponent 9:1 and the final opponent 4:1, reaffirming her championship title as Victoria's No. 1...taking home GOLD!
With one of our best performances on Sunday coming from novice black belt fighter, 17yrs old Rachael Thomas. Receiving a bye first up placed her straight into the finals where she challenged a stronger, faster and much more experienced player in Selin Yilmaz from OTC in the 14/17yrs female black 59-63kgs division. BUT accepting the challenge without reservation or doubt, Rachael put forward the best fight of her career thus far. Simply having fun, going hell for leather with every point added to the scoreboard was a good way to build self confidence, particularly when it came to executing clear and precise head kicks every time. WELL DONE... you may not have won the fight Rachael, but you surely got everyone's attention. Super effort to score 18 points to 28 and definitely one of the better plays of the day...TOTALLY awesome!
The Dilstar was typically in fine form, taking on the junior black belt division with little fuss. Winning his first fight 10:2, Dilan Ismail advanced through to the semi finals where he clearly dominated the play (if only the referees were paying closer attention). After an extremely controversial fight, the end result declared a loss 2:3...Bronze medal. Despite losing faith in the system, Dilan remains strong and focused for his next encounter...
Our only uncontested players at these Open State Sparring Championships were Red Belt - Ashleigh Goldburg and Black Belt - Jake Walsh.
OVERALL...what a fabulous 2 day competition it was, with great team results and individual performances from our Side Kicks, Junior Mights & Senior Raptors. CONGRATUATIONS to all our newly crowned champions...with their diligent efforts in class and positive attitudes on fight day coming to fruition. WELL DONE also to CWT - Point Cook Chief Instructor, Zack Markovski on receiving 'Best Referee Award' at these games by the Victorian Taekwondo Referee Board.
With SPECIAL THANKS of course to our wonderful coaching team - Frank, Jerry, Wayne & Troy, who continue to lead our team to victory time and time again!
Also to ULTRA IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY...great job as always capturing our every highlight. Photos can be viewed or purchased online by simply visiting www.ultraimagephotography.com.au.
2010 VICTORIAN TAEKWONDO SPARRING CHAMPIONS:-
GOLD MEDALISTS
Adrian Abela
Jaka Bambang
Joshua De Stefano
Olivia Karvounis (Intermediate Division)
Joe Pedarse
Justin Scriha
SILVER MEDALISTS
Angelyn Boado
Kelvin Camilleri
April Chisholm
Joe Harsley
Stace Johnson
Olivia Karvounis (Open Division)
Bailey Lewis
Nathan Marley
Emma O'Boyle
Rachael Thomas
Marko Trifkovic
BRONZE MEDALISTS
Jamison Biden
Thomas Goldburg
Dilan Ismail
Taner Ismail
Rupin Mendiratta
Keisha Walsh
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