Successful competition for Manx Tigers

Manx Tigers Taekwondo Club have returned from a very successful 8th Scottish Taekwondo Open held at Ravenscraig near Glasgow last weekend.

A small team of seven entered the Olympic fighting (kyrougi) competition.

Five of them also competed with seven other Manx Tigers in the forms/poomsae competition.

Over 45 teams entered the event from all over the UK, Ireland and various countries including Iceland, India, Austria and the USA.

As a result of some excellent performances, Manx Tigers came second overall in the poomsae event and eleventh in the kyrougi event, leaving them placed eighth overall.

The competition was a great opportunity for the club to team up with two of its two students, Siobhan Leonard and Katie Meads, who are still training whilst at university in England.

Both put in strong performances in the poomsae event, Katie taking gold and Siobhan silver in the competitive, female individual A class category.

Sean Leonard who, like Katie, has represented the Isle of Man in the European Championships, won gold in the equally competitive, male individual A class event.

Poomsae coach Lisa Meads , Katie and Siobhan also took gold in the synchronised team competition.

Another  gold in poomsae was achieved by green tag Tim Evans who clearly has the ability and potential to compete internationally in future events.

Leah Morley, Hannah Doyle and Alicia Madden took silver in the synchronised threes junior A class event, and Sean and Katie just lost out to Iceland to take silver in the pairs.

Coaches Richard Halsall and Lisa Meads took bronze in pairs and Gilly Doyle, Richard Halsall and Alicia won bronze in individuals.

In the kyrougi competition eight-year-old William Comer  stormed to victory in his first international bout which was stopped in the second round when his opponent threw in the towel.

This put him in the final which he comfortably won to take a well-deserved gold.

His dad Simon competed in the veterans under 80kg B class competition and took silver having won the semi-final comfortably against an opponent from Ireland.

He lost in the final to a very strong opponent from the Manchester Sport Taekwondo Club which won the eventual overall kyorugi title.

Hannah Doyle stormed to victory in her semi-final winning at the end of the second round by a point gap against a player from Ireland.

She lost by only two points in the final of the cadet’s A class to a far more experienced opponent from Scotland.

Seventeen-year-old Sean Leonard defeated his opponent from Iceland in a very impressive performance, but injured his ankle in the process.

He then fought in the final against a competitor from Manchester Sport Taekwondo Club and lost on points.

It later transpired that the ankle was fractured and needed surgery.

The club would like to thank the organisers TKDSL, Luke Cook for his excellent kyrougi coaching on the day and his brother, Aaron, for attending to support the Manx Tigers Team.