A group of competitors from Connacht Taekwon-Do Academy competed in the Malaysia International Championships last week.
The competition was held in the 'A Famosa Resort' in Melaka and attracted approximately 900 competitors from five countries. The Galway squad was made up of students aged eight as far as over 50, from yellow to black belts.
The squad was prepared and led by Master Shane Fitzgibbon, VII dan, chief instructor of Connacht Taekwon-Do, in their full-time centre in Ballybane Industrial Estate. As well as the Galway competitors, they were joined by two competitors from Grandmaster Douglas Taekwon-Do in Dublin, another from Master Will Power Taekwon-Do in Limerick, and one from Loughrea Taekwon-Do.
Loughrea Taekwon-Do Club instructors, Mrs Sandra Doyle and Mr Paul Doyle accompanied the squad and attended as umpires.
The 19 competitors from Galway amassed an impressive total of 40 medals (Gold x 21, Silver x 12, Bronze x 7 ). Five of the 12 silver medallists were defeated by their teammates in all-Irish finals, demonstrating the quality of performance in Malaysia.
These results were enough to ensure the team came third place overall. They were beaten by squads of 155 and 70, respectively, which highlights how well the Galway competitors did. Master Fitzgibbon was presented with a trophy, as the team manager.
Connacht Taekwon-Do welcomes new members, from age four upwards. See www.connacht-taekwondo.ie for more details, or social media - Facebook (Connacht Taekwon-Do ) and Instagram (connachttkd ).
