Author: Sampo Pajulampi

Emilia Lahti took bronze in the cadet girls' under 51 kg category at the G1 tournament in Poland at the weekend. Even a brighter medal was close when the follow-up heat was finished. The Dutch girl who was opposite took the series with an overwhelming points win.

Emilia was our club's only medalist when Plum Kopisto, Luca Leskinen, Sami Leskinen and Severi Sarala missed their first rounds. Jenna Partanen beat a tough Croatian in the first round, but in the quarterfinals the reigning European champion, British Lauren Williams, was better this time.

Competition results >>

Matti Sairanen did not succeed in the Eekwondo European Championships for the disabled in Warsaw, Poland. In the first round, he lost to Italy's Antonio Bossolo 15-3 before full time. Bossolo is ranked 4th in the world, while Matti's ranking is 12th. Matti competes in the disability category K44 in the weight category under 61 kg.

Taekwondo athletes were represented by Emilia Lahti and Eddie Quinones at the cadet EC competitions in Bucharest.

Emilia competed in the category under 51 kilograms and was met by Serdja Stevic from Serbia, who trains together with Tijana Bogdanovic (Olympics 1 in Rio). The Serb was far too tough a match for Emmi, who was recovering from the flu. The beginning promised well, but when the breath didn't flow, the match didn't flow either. The final result 20-2 speaks volumes. Stevic took the series to the end in showmanship.

Eddie competed in the boys' under 61-kilogram category. Serbian Stefan Takov was also up against him, whom Eddie led on two occasions. A small slip at the end and a chase in the last seconds cost the match victory. Result 8-13.

Aino Kortelainen won two world championships in Kerava on Sunday 28 August 2016 in the first wall kicking world championships. The wins came in the Open stage series for under 18-year-olds and in the Freestyle business series, which is open to everyone.

Wall kicking is a close contact sport developed by Kerava, where absolute respect for the opponent (i.e. the wall) is absolutely the most important element. References and connections have been found in the early twilight of the sport to the "Vintiöt" television series that gained popularity in the 1990s, especially its "Rane ja Kerava kollit" section. Wall kicking, Kerava's capoeira, is practiced by a small but passionate group of Central New Zealanders, mostly young men, who gather to practice the finesse of the sport during rooster crowing on Saturday and Sunday mornings, mostly at local nakki kiosks by the walls located a short distance away.

The competition format of the sport is new, and the world championships held now were the first competitions of the sport to enjoy official status. The competitions were held in two sports, where in order to guarantee the safety of the walls, the competitors were obliged to follow the following rules: in the Open stage sport, the competitors had 30 seconds to show their skills to the music chosen by the competition organization, at least some kicks hitting the wall was desirable; In the freestyle, i.e. movement series section, the contestants prepare a choreography lasting no more than 90 seconds to the music of their choice, which includes at least six kicks that hit the wall as shown by the organizers.

Konala's two-time world champion was prepared for the arrival of the last three intense weeks by a multidisciplinary coaching team, which included Taekwondo athletes Pauli Raivio and Christian Kamphuis, and Edla Niemi from Kipinä Valmennus Oy from Kerava. Many thanks to the entire coaching staff!

Our club congratulates the new world champion!

Keski-Uusimaa was the first to report on the games on its website http://www.keski-uusimaa.fi/artikkeli/427608-tassa-on-ihka-ensimmainen-seinaan-potkimisen-maailmanmestari-katso-voittosuoritus

Link to Hesar's article: http://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/a1472352441235

Kerva's wheels in the Vintiöt series:

Thursday 18.8. we follow Suvi's matches and spend the evening in the gym in good company. Practices are organized as usual, but of course we watch Suvi's matches together. After practice, we watch the matches and eat dinner. You can sleep in the hall. You should book a sleeping pad, sleeping bag, pillow and personal hygiene items. In the morning, before going to work and school, we enjoy breakfast.

You can come to the gym as early as 2:30 p.m. because the women's -57 kg series starts already at 3:00 p.m. When the times of Suvi's matches become more precise, we will announce them on Facebook.

Dinner and breakfast are free, but we would like a voluntary donation to purchase food supplies.

Petteri and Sampo will supervise with you.

Essi Labart took her best ranking in the 5th European Universities Games competition. Even the medal was left behind by a really narrow point difference.

The European Universities Games is a two-week multi-sport event that has gathered a total of 5,800 athletes from all over Europe in Zagreb and Rijeka. A total of 21 different sports are competed in the event.

Taekwondo athletes congratulates Essi for a great performance and an excellent ranking.

Event homepage: http://www.eusa.eu/events/games/zagreb-rijeka-2016

Emilia Lahti, Tuikku Holopainen and Eddie Quinones were selected for the cadet European Championships. The competitions will be held in Bucharest, Romania, from 8 to 11 September.

Unfortunately, Tuikku hurt his elbow on the trampoline. Since the injury required surgery, Tuiku will unfortunately miss the games.

Three of the six athletes selected for the Games represent Taekwondo athletes. This tells not only about the hard work and commitment of the athletes, but also about the success of the coaching on a broad front. The club happily congratulates the chosen ones and wishes Tuiku the best of luck in his recovery.

News on the website of the Taekwondo Association: http://www.suomentaekwondoliitto.fi/?x103997=2400938

Essi Labart was selected for the national team of business series to represent Finland at the World Championships. In addition, Essi was chosen to represent Finland at the European University Games.

Three European Taekwondo Federation A-class competitions serve as the selection competitions for the team: Belgium Open in May, and Dutch Open and Austrian Open in June. Essi and Christian were the best in their series.

”Essi and Christian have been training systematically, high quality and a lot. The training has really paid off." says Heikki Liukkonen, head coach of the business league national team. 

Most of the athletes selected for the World Championship team can be seen training in TU's gym every week.

Information on the website of the Finnish Taekwondo Association: http://www.suomentaekwondoliitto.fi/?x103997=2387506

OLL has news about EUG: http://www.oll.fi/suomalaiset-ennatyssuurella-joukolla-european-universities-games-tapahtumassa/

The results of the final competitions of the match season (a little late)

This year's European Championships and the Under-21 Championship held in Ikaalis were held on the same weekend, 21-22 May. Taekwondo athletes were strongly represented in both competitions, which meant a full day's work for the coaches. In the midst of all the rush, the follow-up updates were forgotten, but the situation is now being corrected.

In the EC competitions, Jenna and Teemu representing Finland and the club

Teemu Heino represented Finland for the 11th time in the EC competitions and was also the oldest competitor in the competitions. Teemu's road was sadly missed in the early rounds, when Serbia's Djorde Marcetic took a tight fight in the overtime, 7-7- at the end of regular time. Teemu described his condition of the day as a bit tired, but was satisfied with the match considering his condition of the day. On a good day, the Serb would surely have been left behind. Jenna took a nice opening win from the Cypriot representative with a great climb from the chasing position. In the second round, the Olympic silver medalist Nur Tatar from Turkey stepped up, whose legs worked just as well as you could expect. A relatively clear victory for the Turk, but a valuable feeling for Jenna about the level at which the top of the world is currently moving.

Emmi as Finnish under-21 champion

Emilia Lahti ended her competitive spring with a win by taking gold in the under-21 championships in Ikaalis. On top of that, Emmi competed against older players her own age and on the other hand she also won a gold medal in her own age group. Hard training and determined work are starting to show on the competition fields. Sofia Sarala, Jenny Vettenniemi were responsible for the gold medals in the junnus series; Janika Tatti and Aino Kortelainen. The worst ranking was third, so the team was in quite a draw. A big thank you also to the parents who act as helpers at the games.