Triple gold for South Dublin Taekwondo in Montenegro
IT WAS a hugely productive outing for South Dublin Taekwondo a last weekend’s Montenegro Open in Podgorica with Jack Woolley, Emma Cahill and Ryan Doyle all striking gold in their respective divisions.
Cahill and Doyle participated in the European-ranked ‘E1’ youth event on the opening day of competition, hoping to leave themselves on a sound footing ahead of the Junior European Championships in Bosnia next month.
With ranking points the objective, both certainly delivered with Cahill seeing off Bosnian, Serbian, Swedish and Croatian opposition to win her first junior event while experimenting at the higher weight of -52kg.
Doyle’s -68kg division saw him top the podium ahead of Bosnian and Ukrainian opponents as he subsequently secured his second junior gold in 2021 and the 10 ranking points that came with it.
Day Two saw SDTKD seniors David Phelan and Jack Woolley on the mats for the World Ranking ‘G1’ (Grade 1) event with the former exiting at the hands of an experienced Serbian fighter.
Woolley, who is chasing his ranking points quota for the shorter 2021 season, was in the form of his career.
Entering the division later in the day due to his Seed One-bye, he enjoyed a convincing 25-2 victory over Serbia’s Mateja Ivanovic before his display of relentless head shots propelled him to an even more emphatic 34-1 triumph over Hungary’s Sharif Salim in the last eight.
An uncontested semi-final against Sweden’s Olsen meant Woolley had some extra time out before coming up against Spain’s Hugo Vazquez Arillo in the decider and recording a 16-6 win.
Picking up his second gold in as many weeks, Woolley has discovered some excellent form and will take this forward into next week’s Dutch Open in Eindhoven.
Speaking after the Montenegro Open, South Dublin Taekwondo club coach Robert Taaffe said, “This was a good weekend, eventually.
“We missed our transfer in Frankfurt on the way over and had to manage a difficult situation, but the team stayed focused.
“Emma beat some serious opposition as we tried out a new higher weight.
“Ryan had less to do, but the pressure of a small division and straight to medal rounds was managed in great form with his long reach and match play.
“Jack found a gear I’ve not seen before. It’s very exciting for him. Things are coming together” he said.
Next weekend the SDTKD international team will be joined by some new up-and-coming youth athletes at the Dutch Open where the next generation will get a taste of World Taekwondo ranking competition.
