Austrian Open 2013
SDTKD attended our 5th A Class Tournament of the Year in Innsbruck, Austria, the host of the Winter Olympic Games in 1964 & 1976. Due to logistical constraints we flew to Memingem, Germany & made the long drive up the Autobahn & through winding mountains in weather with flood warnings & torrential downpours across the reigon adding to an eventful weekend.
The team was composed of 3 travelling players; Nashat Basel, Jack Woolley & Ryan Woolley, coached by Master Robert Taaffe. Jack was up on day 1 in his -45kg Junior division. A tough First Round draw saw him pair off against Dutch player Vincent Godel. Jack was successful 10-8 where he managed to hold off a barrage of head shot attempts in the dying seconds.
In the 1/4 Final Jack faced Tim Needham of Ultimate GBR, who is looking like the GBR selection in the hotly contested weight division for upcoming Euros in Portugal. A well contested match by both young players saw the victory go to Needham 12-10. An unlucky outing for young Woolley.
Day 2 saw older brother Ryan draw against Michal Loniewski of Poland in R1, another tough draw for the Woolley siblings. Ryan held of the Polish London Olympian 4-0 behind after 2 rounds, when with nothing to loose went out in 3rd where the experienced Pole capitalised on his strong head kicking ability. It was fantastic to see SDTKD player Woolley gain this opportunity to share the ring & gain experience form such an athlete.Finally Nashat Basel made his A Class debut, winning his 1/4 final 4-0 against a German opponent, and falling short against a giant Croat in the semi final who’s head kicking ability was too much for the much shorter fighter.The tournament was another great outing for SDTKD in many respects; player / coach experience, club exposure & building foundations for our upcoming players to attend events in future under the umbrella of a well established, experienced Taekwondo Team.
As always the team conducted themselves with great preparations & composure throughout & represented your club with excellent Taekwondo Tenant guided manner throughout the weekend.
On behalf of the Coaches, Club members, well done lads.
Nashat became SDTKD’s 4th A Class medalist of 2013
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