South Dublin Meath business in Open Championships

SOUTH Dublin Taekwondo fielded a strong team of 35 athletes in the Meath Open Championships which attracted some 260 Olympic taekwondo enthusiasts from around the country and abroad.

Robert Taaffe, Head Coach of South Dublin, was pleased with the performance of his contingent saying “We had some beginner members partake in their first event, where the goal was not to win medals, but to win experience and they delivered in abundance.

“It was great to see first-timers and family trio of Aodhan, Connor and Oisin Kelly all participate in their debut event.

“Other beginners Darius Turcitu won gold in his pee wee division after three strong fights, Jacqueline Rosales had a strong silver medal performance going up a weight and James McGovern had a blistering run of four wins to achieve gold.

“Higher up the grades we were delighted that all of our seniors and upcoming international squad members came home with gold medals including Kim Rena, Jed Rena, Dabid Phelan, Adam Nugent, Aoibhe Thornton, Anas Belmaati and recent kickboxing additions Nate Kelly and Shauna Bannon took the first golds of their short TKD careers in the advanced divisions.

“Adam Nugent was joined on the top of the podium by his younger brother Ben, and his father Alan” he added.

The day for SDTKD was capped off with some awards including best Child, Junior and Senior Performances awarded to Shae Yambao, Adam Nugent and Anas Belmaati, with SDTKD winning the team trophy.