| 4th WTF World Poomsae Championships |
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BTCB Great Britain National Taekwondo Poomsae Team (World Championships 2009)
Sydney Craven (Livingwell) – Junior Female Individual & 1st Pair
Great Britain sent a small but experienced team to the WTF World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships held in Cairo, Egypt from 30th November through to 2nd December 2009. This is the fourth consecutive World Poomsae Championships promoted by the World Taekwondo Federation and hosted this year by the Egyptian Taekwondo Federation. The event, which was held in Hall 1 of the huge and impressive Nasr Stadium has been the most successful to date drawing a record 564 athletes from 59 countries including many countries making their first appearance on the World stage including Guatemala, Mongolia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Macau and Zimbabwe to name as few This years event saw a somewhat marked change in the performance of Poomsae on the World stage. Previous World Championships have focused on the delivery and performance with accuracy being a key part with a slower overall tempo. This years Championships, as also with the European Championships which were held in Portimao, Portugal in November, saw a marked increase in the speed and delivery of each technique. This though was still not at the detriment of the performance as moves still needed to be clean, crisp and sharp with techniques flowing from one to the next. The additional speed gave Poomsae performed this year more in terms of dynamics and flair and there was a definite increase in the height of kicks with competitors all aiming to outdo each other. These elements made for the most visually attractive championships to date and hopefully will encourage more interest and participation in Poomsae.
Day 1 of the event saw our talented Juniors in action with 2009 British Champion Guntur Dwiarmein from Horley, Surrey first up in the Junior Male Individual category. The 17 year old, who was a finalist at the European Championships, was in a large pool of 34 of the best players in the World. As at last years Championships, all the competitors were split into two groups of 17 for the preliminary round. All players in the preliminary round would then have to perform two poomsae from the first compulsory, in Guntur’s case Taeguek 4 (Sah Jang) and Taeguek 7 (Chil Jang), with the top 9 players in each group advancing through to the Semi-Final. Guntur had no problems making the cut into the top 18 for the Semi’s and qualified through as 3rd highest. A place in the top 8 for the final was to allude him however as despite good a good performance of Taeguek 8 (Pal Jang), his next pattern Keumgang was to be his downfall with a small wobble on a slippery mat to cost him dearly. Guntur finished a respectable 15th overall in a extremely tough category. Our second player on Day 1 was 2008 Commonwealth Gold Medallist Sydney Craven from Erith, Kent. The 15 year old was amongst the youngest at the event, the least experienced member of the team and the only one from Great Britain making their debut at World level though showed exceptional maturity at the event and a calmness beyond her years. Sydney, again also a finalist at the recent Europeans, was competing in the Junior Female category which is arguably one of the toughest and this year had a record 34 competitors. She was aiming to erase the mistake she made in the finals in Portugal which agonisingly cost her a medal and did so in style, easing through the preliminary round of 17 with her performances of Taeguek 5 (Oh Jang) and Taeguek 6 (Yuk Jang) and into the Semi-Final of the Worlds top 18 Junior Female players. The pressure was on for Sydney with only eight places available for the final. It was no problem for her though as she put in very strong performances of Taeguek 8 (Pal Jang) and Koryo and was joint 4th with Iran going into the final. Her final patterns, Taebaek and Keumgang, though excellent, in a field of such calibre were just not quite enough on this occasion unfortunately and Sydney finished with a final 2009 World ranking of 7th, which is Great Britain’s best ever result in this category. With the World now talking about her performances this year she will also be heartened by the fact that she beat a number of European medallists including the 2009 European Champion on the way through to the final and is a strong medal prospect for Great Britain at future major events as she continues to develop.
Day 2 saw Guntur Dwiarmein and Sydney Craven compete together in the synchronised 1st Pair category which this year again had record 37 World Class Pairs all aiming to become World Champions. The pair, who achieved Great Britain’s best result of 6th at the Europeans in Portugal aimed to again put in a fantastic performance. They started well qualifying for one of the 19 spots in the Semi-finals with ease, with great performances of Taeguek 8 (Pal Jang) and Koryo. The Semi-Final proved to be a bigger step up though and despite good synchronicity and timing, their performances of Keumgang and Taebaek were just not quite strong enough for them to push for one of the eight places in the final and they were devastated to finish in 9th overall. Despite missing out on a place in the final however, Guntur and Sydney should be pleased as their 9th Place World ranking was another best ever result for Great Britain at World level and as one of the youngest Pairs at the competition there is a good potential for a long and successful future ahead of them in this category.
Day 3 and the final day of the World Championships saw our most experienced member of the team Master Stephane Roth, from London, in action in the 2nd Senior Male Individual category. Stephane, who has represented Great Britain at every WTF World Poomsae Championships since its inception, achieved Great Britain’s best ever result in this category at last year’s World Championships in Turkey when he achieved a position in the final and only narrowly missing out on a medal. He was once again aiming high though had a tough category with 39 players in total to contend with. Taeguek 7 (Chil Jang) and Koryo were the first poomsae required for the preliminary round and good performances of these saw him secure one of the 20 places in the semi-final without too much difficulty. Keumgang and Taebaek were the next patterns required and though Stephane put in a good fight to try and make the top 8 for a place in the final it was unfortunately just not quite good enough with many strong performances all round. Stephane achieved a good result overall with an 11th place World Ranking. Overall Great Britain’s results were pleasing with great performances from the Junior members of the team. Both players are strong contenders for medals going into 2010 and the additional experienced gained at this years World Championships will no doubt go a long way to help further increase the pool of talent in this country and improve our chances of medal success at next years major events. Preparations for the BTCB Great Britain National Poomsae Team for 5th WTF World Poomsae Championships to be possibly held in Vietnam late 2010 as well as the Commonwealth Championships in India are now underway. The BTCB will shortly announce the selection criteria which all athletes aspiring to make the team should be looking to achieve. All athletes should be in regular attendance at their Regional Training Sessions with 2010 dates for Regional sessions, seminars, selection competitions, including the 2010 National Poomsae Championships to be announced on the BTCB Website. For further information on how to get involved please see the Poomsae section of the BTCB website for contact details of your nearest Regional Coach. Taken from BTCB Website. |
Day 2 also saw Master Tong Wan Shin from Manchester as the next member of the Great Britain Team looking for success at this years World Championships and competing in the 2nd Masters Male Individual category. Master Shin who achieved a second Bronze medal at the 2009 European Championships in Portugal to go with the Bronze medal he achieved at the 2007 Europeans in Turkey was aiming to add to his tally in Cairo and started the event directly in the Semi-Final despite there being a record 19 competitors in this category. He started strongly and qualified through to the final 8 with good performances of Poomsae Shipjin and Jitae. Poomsae Chonkwon and Hansoo in the final however had key kicking elements within them and despite Master Shins good power, the height and flexibility of the kicks performed by some of the other competitors in the final were crucial to the presentation scores. Master Shin finished the event with an 8th place World ranking.