Source: www.guardian.co.tt
Written by: Clayton Clarke
T&T finished third the tenth Caribbean Taekwondo Championships at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Bridgetown Barbados on Saturday. The seven-member contingent won seven medals (2 gold, 1 silver and five bronze). Jason Tannis opened the collection with gold in the Male Junior Light Middle weight title. The 16-year-old St Michael Boys student whipped St Vincent and Grenadines Jessie Huggins 13-4. He advanced to the finals by beating Clifferson Dixon (Barbados) 9-2.
Katherine Lee A Ping won T&T’s second gold in the Senior Female Fin Flyweight category, getting the better of Deline Gaymes of St. Vincent and the Grenadines by 22 to 13. The St Joseph Convent, POS student had to fight all the way as Gaymes proved to be a formidable opponent. However, the First Degree Dan Black Belt used all her experience to fend off her challenger. The 17-year-old fifth former got to the final after whipping Akeiba Norvelle of Barbados 16-0. Lee Aping was later named the most outstanding female fighter of the tournament.
Speaking after her triumph, Lee Aping said she was excited at winning gold in her first attempt at the regional tournament. “It is my first gold medal in the Caribbean championship. When the final match began I started to move around and I felt comfortable.” Lee Aping said she used all her experience get the better of her opponent. “She was more aggressive than my first opponent but the match came down to experience. She had a lot of potential as a green belt but in the end I got the edge because of my experience.”
Sherelle De Bourgh was the lone silver medallist. The Bishops Anstey student lost her Female Junior Light Featherweight gold medal match to Ella Tjappa of Suriname 3-16. Head coach Colin Mufford said he was proud of the team’s effort as he did not anticipate such a good performance. “We started off a bit slow but we got better and better.” The fighters returned last night.
MEDAL WINNERS
Gold
Jason Tannis
Male Junior Light Middle weight)
Katherine Lee Aping
Female Senior Fin Flyweight)
Silver
Sherelle De Bourgh
(Female Junior Light Featherweight)
Bronze
Jonathan Tardieu
(Male Junior Lightweight)
Stephan Morales
(Male Senior Feather coloured)
In Sueng Jung
(Male Junior Light Heavyweight)
Andy Clarke
(Male Senior Lightweight)
Jerome Browne
( Male Senior Welterweight)
Top Senior Female
Katherine Lee A Ping
Overall
1st Barbados
2nd Suriname
3rd Trinidad and Tobago