Elite Taekwondo fights it out at invitational

SIX members of Torquay-based Elite Taekwondo fought it out at the Melbourne Taekwondo Invitational on Sunday.

The event, held at Doncaster Secondary College, saw a number of Melbourne and surrounding suburb clubs come together to test their players in their sparring teams.

The Elite Taekwondo team had been training hard for the past few months in a dedicated sparring program run by Victorian state champion and club owner Alistair Lawson.

First up was Frazer, who in only his second ever competition won all his matches to take himself through to the final of the 14-17 age category. Despite clocking up points with a flurry of kicks, he was narrowly edged out of gold by two points and came home with silver.

Star was up next and took her fight through to the final round only to finish with equal points to her opponent which meant going into a golden point round (first one to score wins). Both girls gave it their all but the points went the other way to leave Star in Silver Medal position.

Next was Evie and Poppy, who landed on opposite sides of the draw. Both players won their fights to see that they met in the final. It was bittersweet as both girl had fun showing their skills again each other which ended with Evie narrowly defeating Poppy.

River was up next, flying through his first heat to end up in the final round against his friend Angus from Elite Taekwondo Geelong. In a seesaw battle, the boys showed their array of kicking skills and in the final moments of the heat, it was River who won the gold by just one point.

The final match of the day saw Daniel in only his second ever competition. Daniel had two very close matches with his first going to golden point which saw him take the win to head into the final. The final would see Daniel put in a huge effort and a never give up attitude to bring home the gold in the dying seconds of the match.

The end tally for Elite Taekwondo Torquay was three golds and three silvers.

“I’m so proud of each and every one of them as they all put in a huge effort,” Lawson said.

“They all had a lot of heart and showed great skills under pressure. It is a great feeling when they can all really demonstrate their skills and the hard work they have put in.”