Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Another successful GTA, Olympic Day championship held
The students display their silverware in the presence of Coaches, Instructors and Organisers following the presentation.
The Guyana Taekwondo Association (GTA) on Saturday last ran off the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) sponsored Olympic Day Taekwondo Championship in observance of Olympic Day 2018.
The competition’s main focus was in the Kyorugi division and it was also used to unearth emerging talent among the young athletes which is the focus of the GTA. Action kicked off with Arvinda Comacho and Ricardo Ramlall battling it out in the Group ‘A’ and resulted in Comacho clinching the first place ahead of Ramlall.
The action continued in Group ‘B’ with Tejindra Ramcharran taking the gold medal. Tejindra Ramcharran, displayed a great deal of ring command and fighting technique over his other opponents. The silver in this division went to Matthew Khan who also put up a good fight against his opponents; Akeem Fowler copped bronze medal ahead of Omario Darlington.
In Group ‘C’, some of the younger players battled it out for supremacy; Nathan Vanderhyden, Vivek Bassoo (both of whom are off-springs of taekwondo students), Emma Mandall, the lone female and Keshan Chhangurall.
Nathan Vanderhyden opened against Emma Mandall with Vanderhyden quickly displaying superiority over his opponent which carried him to victory. Then it was over to Vivek Bassoo who took on Keshan Changur with both fighters seeking to outscore each other with their tiny legs, but it was Vivek who won got the decision over Keshan.
The action then switched to Mandall and Changur in the third/fourth place match. This fight soon concluded with Changur taking third place. However, the action reached another level when Vanderhyden took on Bassoo for the first place.
The clash was described by the Coaches and Instructors, as ‘age old rivalry’. Both fighters did not relent but Vanderhyden soon stole the show by clinching the fight, leaving Bassoo with the silver medal; the two little athletes gave the spectators a grand show.
In Group ‘D’, the tiny tots battled it out with Tyler Goring taking the first place, followed by Shibraj Jacob in second and Kailan Wong (who is also the off spring of a taekwondo student) in third place.
Wong, who stands just about 2 feet tall, even though she took third place, stole the hearts of many of the spectators. Group ‘E’ saw the Seepersaud siblings, Arianna and Kalyse, Jamal Smith and Christopher Goring facing off.
In this division the female displayed dominance with Arianna Seepersaud beating off both of her male opponents to land the first place, while Jamal Smith took second followed by Christopher Goring and Kalyse Seepersaud, third and fourth.
Arianna Seepersaud noted that she won the first place for her younger sister and her. The show however, was not quite completed as two of the senior fighters, Wayne Forde and Stefan Wong, took to the ring for a friendly demo match.
They both displayed an array of superior kicks, much to the delight and satisfaction of the audience. In the end, the audience was asked to vote for a winner and Wong received the majority decision.
This competition was successfully coordinated by Coach La Toya Herbert who said it was a day of fun working with the athletes, judges and coaches. Herbert conveyed thanks to all the instructors who came out and offered support, while special gratitude was extended to the Guyana Olympic Association, Coach/Master Ramjeet Ramphal, Coach/Master Roy Bacchus, Coaches Alim Azimullah, Trevor Bassoo, Kawall Ramkiran; Senior Black Belt students Wayne Forde and Stefan Wong; Junior Coaches Shenique Bourne and Khemchandra Randy Ali; Students Randy Deochand, Kevic Lall and Ms. Kayshree Persaud whose efforts combined to make the event a successful one.
Meanwhile, the public is being reminded that the Guyana Taekwondo Association training facility is located in Woolford Avenue upstairs of the Guyana Teacher’s Union. Classes are held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 17:00 to 19:00hrs. For further details, contact can be made with Ms. La Toya Herbert on 670-2615.
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