Youth Olympic Qualifiers / World Junior Championships
The World Taekwondo Federation [WTF] had a major double header take place in Chinese Taipei [Taiwan] from March 20th – 26th 2014. Every 4 years the WTF hold a dual event for Juniors to compete in the Youth Olympics Qualifiers & the World Junior Championships. With a quota of just one entry per country per division, Ireland elected for a sole entry of young Jack Woolley, 15, to compete in both events at Flyweight [-48kg].
Agonizing wait for video replay decision.
Jack kicked off his competitive events participating at the YOQ on centre stage at the massive Taipei Arena, where aloft on the raised platform he impressed with a great start, and gained a few fans. A tricky round 1 draw against his Bahrain counterpart, who was known for a good silver medal performance at the 2013 Korean Open. Jack had a cautious start, but picked up great momentum with his signature head kicking ability, eventually opening up his lead to 32-12, finishing the match early at end of 2nd round as per WTF rules where a match can be stopped at end of 2nd to last round if points exceed 12. In round 2 Jack met with a fighter from the Philippines, who was very similar in stature and ability. The match went all the way to overtime after a 16-16 draw, where Jack kept his nerve & nabbed a vital point in the ‘next point the winner’ scenario. R0und 3 was a critical game, the winner of which automatically qualified to the upcoming Youth Olympics, a feat never before achieved by Irish players. The high octane trade off saw Jack once again face off against Asian opposition, meeting with Kazakhstan, current German Open Champion. A grueling match all the way to wire saw the due all tied at 17-17, until the opposing Kazak coach raised his video replay card and managed to have 3 points wiped off Jacks score, thus leaving the match at 17-14, and destroying the hopes of the youngster getting to the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China later this year. Immediately after that game, Coach Master Robert Taaffe noted, ‘We are gutted, we had some very good appeals for head shots not come through in that match, but sometimes we get ones in our favour. We have 4 days until the worlds now, so time to reset, get the head down, review future match play & get on with the job in hand’.
After 3 more days productive training with travelling coaching team Master Taaffe, and Master Niamh Buffini [Strength & Conditioning] Jack was back in action again competing in the World Championships. The four-day biennial championships, which took place at the Taipei Arena in downtown Taipei City, attracted a total of 793 athletes and 472 officials from a record 107 countries. A total of 90 international referees officiated at the championships. Round 1 saw Jack face off against the Romanian -48kg selection. Jack kept his coaches on edge of their seat where he once again went all the way to golden point overtime, requiring the extra 4th round to see off his opponent 15-14 after the match was drawn in regulation time. An exciting prospect with the local Chinese Taipei favourite was now on the cards, a match which was dubbed his ‘medal match’ by Coach Taaffe, who was excited this player was all that stood between the young Irish hopeful & the podium. Unfortunately the fairy-tale ending did not come, the 48kg, 6 foot tall Taipei lad was too much to overcome, a heavy 22-2 score-line perhaps flattered the local, but his form which ultimately brought an end to Jacks 2014 World Stage dream, and saw the humble Taipei fighter go on to win the 57 strong division & be awarded the title of ‘Player of The Tournament’ by the WTF.
Jack had a total of 5 fights, 4 against Asian opposition, with 4 of his matches on centre stage. It was an amazing opportunity for the development of SDTKD’s athlete, wining 3 matches at this level was an excellent achievement.
Upon return from the event Coach Taaffe noted, ‘We couldn’t be more proud of Jacks performance in Taipei, it was fuelled by great support from back home & assistance offered by The ITU & SDTKD attending fundraisers. Hopefully this is a small stepping stone in the career of this young man, and I am sure he has opened up some doors for his juniors in coming years.’
Round 1 YOQ V Bahrain:
Round 2 YOQ V Philippines:
Round 3 V Kazakhstan:
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