Bishopstown Taekwondo travelled to Gormanston Co. Meath for the INTA International Open Championships at the weekend. The SMA Hall Wilton based club were competing at this event for the first time. It is the longest running International Open in Europe. There were 500 competitors competing over the two days. First up were the junior yellow belts, with Sarah Alexander winning Gold in under 8 sparring demonstrating fantastic speed of punching in a hard fought final. Ethan Alexander took bronze in u8 sparring in a competitive section. Their sister Sandra fought strongly in red belt u13 sparring. Abbie O'Driscoll did well in u13 patterns getting through the rounds, while Syaheera Mohd (u8) and Aniq Iskandor (u10) won silver and gold respectively in their pattern sections with outstanding displays. Aniq's brother Hazeem Raziq won silver in u13 green belt sparring narrowly missing out on gold in a tough final. Harry O'Reilly took silver in u10 blue belt patterns, with his red belt brother Andrew taking silver in u11 patterns as well as bronze in sparring. Completing the family line-up, Seán was edged out in sparring by the eventual winner.
Eyad Elamin won silver in red belt sparring and bronze in patterns, while his sister Dania performed excellently at green belt. Sisters Zumyra and Zulyqa Zulkifli both won bronze in sparring and patterns. Sandra Alexander, Qistina Azrul and Oliwia Kozlowska, along with sisters Syasya Fuad and Ulfah Irdinah all competed well in a very strong u14 red belt section, with Oliwia winning bronze in sparring.
Syaireen Mohd showed superb control and composure winning gold in u11 red belt sparring and silver in patterns to cap off Saturday.
Day 2 saw Bishopstown's seniors compete in their black belt sections.
Syafeea Mohd was first to compete and the pressure was on after the success of her sisters Syaheera and Syaireen on Saturday and she didn't dissappoint. She delivered her best performance yet winning gold in sparring in a very tough black belt teen section and taking bronze in patterns.
Ian Dennehy and Conor Dorgan competed in the tournament's largest group, performing strongly in their u17 black belt section, gaining much needed experience against top fighters. Last up was Bishopstown Instructor Alex Walsh, who won silver in sparring and bronze in patterns in the Senior Male Middleweight section, which finished a very successful weekend for Bishopstown's 23 competitors. A big thank you to the coaches Ms Sandra Walsh 5th Dan and Mr Pat Field 4th Dan for all their efforts throughout the trip.