TAEKWON-DO POLISH OPEN CUP OPOLE

29 medals were won by athletes from Krakowskie Centrum Taekwon-do at the Polish Open Cup in Opole. Our seniors took first place in the competition’s medal standings. Karolina Czech and Jakub Włodarz each brought home two gold medals. Adam Zięba defeated his opponents in impressive style, providing many exciting moments. He won three medals in total. The four children performed very well in speed techniques.

On 21–21 November, Krakowskie Centrum Taekwon-do took part in the Polish Open Cup in Opole. A total of 38 male and female athletes from our club competed. We brought home 29 medals: 10 gold, 11 silver and 8 bronze.
The seniors from Krakowskie Centrum Taekwon-do took first place in the competition’s medal standings. In total, our seniors brought home 5 gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal.
Karolina Czech stood on the top step of the podium twice, winning semi-contact +170 cm and defeating her opponents in light-contact +64 kg. Jakub Włodarz did not disappoint, winning two gold medals in semi-contact -180 cm and light-contact -78 kg. Jakub won successive bouts in impressive style, giving his opponents no chance. In special techniques, our senior Dobrochna Dolicka took first place, as well as second place in light-contact -57 kg. Karolina Nowak won silver in semi-contact -170 cm. It is worth noting that Karolina had a difficult route to the podium, as her opponents demonstrated a high level. Marcin Mastalerz won third place in light-contact in the -84 kg category.

Our juniors also performed well, taking second place in the competition’s medal standings. Adam Zięba recorded a very good performance, winning 3 medals in total. He fought fiercely in the light-contact final, but his opponent proved better and Adam took second place. However, this bout provided everyone with many exciting moments. Both athletes fought very well and neither gave way. In semi-contact, in the -175 cm category, Adam won gold. In traditional formal patterns for juniors, 2nd cup and above, he took second place. Mateusz Kopciński defeated his opponents and won a gold medal in light-contact in the +78 kg category. Junior Kinga Koczapska won a bronze medal after hard-fought light-contact bouts in the +64 kg category. Mateusz Durczok took second place in light-contact -78 kg. Jakub Drewniak also won second place in semi-contact -185 cm. The cadet Mateusz Bilik won bronze in light-contact in the -60 kg category.

Michał Podborski, a youth competitor, took second place in speed techniques in the -150 cm, 5th cup and above category, as well as second place in semi-contact -150 cm. Filip Suder won a silver medal in special techniques for youth competitors in the -150 cm category and bronze in speed techniques. First place in special techniques up to -155 cm went to Mateusz Kucharz. Mateusz also took second place in speed techniques -155 cm. Jakub Kania won silver in soft-stick, while Dominik Kiełbowicz took bronze. Jacek Nielipiński won another medal in youth speed techniques, taking second place. Jan Rubinowski also took third place in speed techniques. Jan additionally won a bronze medal in semi-contact in the -155 cm category.

The children won 4 medals in total in the speed techniques event. Wojciech Bar was the best, winning a gold medal. Stefania Kotowicz brought home silver. Wiktor Grabski and Zosia Urbaniec won bronze medals. Congratulations to all the athletes.

In the overall medal standings of the competition, we took fifth place. The competition was attended by 546 male and female athletes from 23 teams, including 5 foreign teams from Moldova, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Scotland and Austria. The competition was refereed by 38 licensed ZSPUT judges, including five judges from our club.

Adam Zięba on his performance:
“My opinion is that the level of this competition was very high. This was partly thanks to athletes from other countries, such as the Czechs and Austrians. Of course, opponents from Poland also posed a huge challenge, and I had hard-fought bouts with some of them. The light-contact final could have been enjoyable for the spectators, as it was very even and provided many exciting moments. Unfortunately, I lost. The result of the bout will motivate me to continue working and achieve even better results at future competitions.”