Porvoo Open 2020 was organized on October 3, 2020 at Porvoo Liikuntahalli. Corona overshadowed the arrangements and all athletes from the children's series (E/D) were excluded from the Taekwondo athletes. Because the race was small, several of our athletes also missed the series. However, the small team was capable of striking and, apart from a couple of annoying bumps, the day was a top performance.
Cadets
Markus Liuko
Markus Liuko (C -37 kg) took silver in his series. Two matches and a narrow final loss were a good indication of the development in the right direction.
Teemu Takala
Teemu Takala (C -48 kg) faced Frans Frangen and the tight match turned into Teemu's victory. Unfortunately, Teemu injured his leg in the match and did not make it to the second match of the pool. Silver for Teemu as well.
Juniors
Honey La
Honey La (B -68 kg) fought two matches and a gold medal was hung around her neck. The matches were exciting and Honey was able to improve her performance during the matches.
Lauri Hulikkala and Plum Kopisto
Plum and Lauri were drawn in their own series (B -68 kg) on the same side of the chart. At first, Plum took a clear victory over tall Miro Ulkuniemi. In the semifinals, Plum and Lauri met and the battle was quite intense. However, Plum was slightly better and the match was one of the best of the day. Unfortunately, the winner just injured his ankle and missed the final. Bronze for Lauri and silver for Plum.
Adults
Sara Quinones
Sara Quinos had no objection to the cadets or juniors. Thus, cadet-aged Sara fought amazingly in the adult heavyweight division (R +73). Even though Sara is an exceptionally talented and skilled fighter for her age, the age difference to women in her twenties is quite large in terms of physics.
Sara's grips were convincing and the opponents of course did their best, but Sara finally showed the place of the locker. Although the result was perhaps not surprising, the performance was still confusingly hard.
Summary
The race was completed with honor. However, some corona measures seemed excessive, even unreasonable. In the case of small children in particular, it would be important to take into account the security provided by your own carers in the future.
The long competition break was visible both in the arrangements and in the sports performances. However, our own judges Lex and Ali Lahti were remarkably sharp and deserve praise for their judging.
Valmentajan toiminut Sampo Pajulampi totesi: ”Tiivistetysti: hyvin meni. Saran voitto aikuisten sarjassa oli kyllä uskomaton veto noin yleisesti ottaen. Jos ois ollu järkevä arvonta Plumin ja Laurin sarjassa, ois siitäkin kulta ja hopea. Muuten kaikilla taso siellä missä pitääkin, eli kärjessä tai kärjen edellä.”
Mari Lapinsalo and Eddy Quinones also worked as coaches and things went smoothly throughout the day.
For the parents following behind the window, the situation was e.g. frustrating due to data flow problems. However, guardians play an important role in the Games from many points of view, and it will not do to be underestimated in the future.
