LSE Taekwondo team put up a brave fight, but go home empty handed
Last Sunday morning saw Kooyeon, Clarissa, Kevin, Robin and me shivering at quarter to seven in Baker Street station, on our way to the 2010 National Championships at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium in Ayelsbury. There is a direct train from Marylebone to Aylesbury, but it didn’t run early enough to get us to the tournament in time, so we had to hop on and off the Metropolitan Line at various improbable places all the way out to Zone 9 (bet you didn’t even know there was a Zone 9), and then get a train from somwhere named ‘Amersham’ onwards.
Arriving in the nick of time, everybody weighed in without too many problems. The commitment shown by Kooyeon and Clarissa in relation to this was exemplary, both having gone on epic diets the week prior to the tournament in order to lose a couple of kilos so as to fit into their weight categories. Kooyeon, an egg burger and fried chicken man, had even gone so far as to substitute these fine meals with boiled celery, or boiled spinach, or something dreadful like that.
Onto the tournament. Clarissa and Robin had opted to compete in poomsae, which involves the execution of a pre-set series of movements before a panel of judges. They would decide who had performed the poomsae well enough to go on to the next round. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, neither made it to the finals.
Would the team perform better in sparring? No, we didn’t really. Kooyeon and Clarissa fought first (on separate rings against different opponents, I hasten to add), but neither was able to score a victory. Kooyeon was suffering from a groin injury picked up during training, and despite going 6-0 up against his opponent at one point early in the match, was unable to maintain the lead because of it. Clarissa fought with considerable skill and aggression, and had clearly improved immensley since the Cambridge Open at the end of last year. Unfortunately, however, despite landing many points, her opponent was ultimately able to negate these, owing not least to a considerable height advantage.
Kevin’s first opponent didn’t turn up and so he received a bye into the second round. Again, however, a height disadvantage seriously undermined his strenuous efforts, and despite an heroic fight, he was ultimately not successful (he dances a mean dance, though, which his opponent almost certainly can’t do).
Our hopes for a win were now pinned on Robin (I don’t really count)…and he almost did it. The match was by far and away one of the most exciting – and closest – of the day. He and his opponent virtually matched each other move for move, and the pace was extraordinary: an excellent reminder of what an exciting sport Taekwondo can be. The only competitor in his weight category, Robin was guaranteed a silver medal, and only missed gold by a whisker.
My own match, by contrast, saw me squander my weight, height and belt advantage to go down 8-1. Bravo, David.
After all our fights were over there didn’t seem much point in hanging around for the awards ceremony, so we made our escape. The most noteworthy event afterwards was during the taxi ride to the station, during which Clarissa declared a deep affection for Burger King. But don’t we all, really? Especially for those who only ate boiled vegetables for a week.
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