taekwondoscotland™
Scotland National Team - 2012 Dutch Open
|
A milestone for Scotland National Team at the 39th Dutch Open
It was a fantastic weekend for The Scotland National Team at the 39th Dutch Open, on March 17-18 2012. Our players have returned with the best result ever achieved by a Scottish National team at this high profile event; Asia Bailey (Central TKD Academy, Falkirk) made history by becoming the first Scot to win the Dutch Open with the Scotland National Team. For yet another year more than 1000 players from countries all around the World descended to Eindhoven to compete in the junior and senior divisions. It did feel like being at a World Championship watching players from National teams and clubs from every corner of Europe as well as every other continent (except for Antarctica of course!). |
Due to the size of the competition it takes 10 match areas and two days to complete the tournament. Scotland was represented by a young team of five players, some of whom had never competed at an A-class tournament before. Our team comprised a senior player, Alan Haston and four juniors: Asia Bailey, Hassan Haider, Kristian Kinnon and Naomi Strathie. Master David Bailey (Head of Team) and Master Nikos Jakubiak (Head Coach) were also present.
On day one it was Alan Haston’s first cap with the Scottish National Team as a senior player. Alan’s return to competitive TKD after a several years break has been met with a lot of excitement from many TKD fans in Scotland who remember him from when he was still a junior player. It was about 10 years ago when Alan was selected to represent Great Britain at the Junior World Championship. Soon after that, he was the first person to ever win gold medal for the Scotland National Team at a formal event. This was at an International tournament in Greece with a Scottish squad sanctioned by BTCB Scotland. Those of us who were there will never forget the exciting way he won the final against an unwavering Greek fighter, nor the amazing emotion when the Scottish National Anthem was played at the medal ceremony. Due to various reasons Alan did not continue competing and only returned to competitive TKD last year. In his first game at a major event Alan was thrown straight into deep water having to fight against a full-time player from Mexico National Team. For those of you who are not aware, Mexico has been turning into a TKD powerhouse over recent years and they are consistently producing very tough and skilful players. Alan was not intimidated by his opponent though and took the challenge resolute to win. He produced many opportunities and some exciting moves. His opponent was that bit more experienced and was helped by a malfunction with his electronic body protector which meant Alan’s kicks were not registering. This was not detected until after the next fight had started. Alan did not get the result but displayed the kind of attitude we expect from any player who represents Scotland. He fought with pride, courage, showed determination and kept trying his best up to the very last second of the match. Overall, this is a very promising start at an A-class event for Alan and we look forward to seeing him back in action soon.
Following next was Kristian Kinnon who is now in his first year in the juniors, although not new to competitive TKD. He has already been crowned British Champion in the cadets and has already taken part at one A-class tournament: the British Open. It has been an interesting year so far for Kristian who is learning the ropes in this transition period from cadets to juniors. His first fight was against a fellow Brit from Manchester Aces TKD club who, like Kristian, is also part of the GB junior squad. Kristian displayed his usual passionate attitude but he also managed to pull off several smart moves to overcome the height advantage his opponent had over him. He sealed the victory and moved on to face an even taller player from the Ukrainian National Team. Kristian tried to repeat his previous success but his opponent proved to have more experience and tactical awareness. Kristian lost his second fight but gained valuable understanding of how he needs to develop his game to reach the top.
Day two of the competition started for the Scotland National Team with Hassan Haider in his first fight at an A-class tournament. This was also Hassan’s first year in the junior divisions and he was perhaps a bit overwhelmed by the occasion. Although he started his match looking strong and technically superior to his German opponent he eventually could not maintain the pace and poise he has displayed so well lately in training and other, smaller, competitions. There were lots of near misses over his opponent’s head and had Hassan connected with one of them perhaps that could have been what he needed to help him stay focused. Hassan will be able to take a lot of positive things out of his experience and will return to his next A-class tournament ready to prove he is one of the finest fighters around.
This is the first year for Naomi Strathie in the junior divisions as well and only her second time competing at an A-class tournament. Naomi started her competition against a German fighter whom she was able to overcome without much effort and moved on to the next round where she was up against last year’s Dutch Open medallist, and current British Champion in her division, Katie Bradley. Naomi started the game very well and at the end of the first round she was up by 2-0. This in itself is remarkable evidence of Naomi's improvement, considering that in the previous times they faced each other Katie was the dominant force. This game turned out to be nail biting thriller; with Naomi looking like she could clinch victory at any second. Eventually, Naomi lost 4-6 but it is clear she is more than capable of moving on to the next stage and establishing herself as one of the best British Juniors.
Asia Bailey made history in this year’s Dutch Open by putting the Scottish flag at the top of the medal table of a weight division. This is the first time this has ever happened in the 39 years of the Dutch Open history! A very proud time indeed for everyone involved! An achievement like this deserves its own article so at this point it suffices to say that Asia had four convincing victories to be crowned Dutch Open Champion 2012. She fought against players from Croatia, Germany, Norway and Bulgaria. None of her opponents were able to even keep close to her. She was so determined and strong that her opponent in the final had to withdraw as she was unable to hold back the overpowering rising Scottish star! Asia’s division had many experienced players as well as medallists from last year’s junior European Championship. Her performance is maturing and getting better after each game and what makes it even more exciting is that what we have seen so far is only a fraction of what she is capable of!
Head of Team, Master Bailey, praised all the players in the squad for their impeccable behaviour and the professionalism they displayed both inside and outside the ring. It is quite remarkable really, especially when taking into account the average age of the group was under 16 years.
As mentioned before, Asia’s result has made this squad the most successful Scottish National Team to ever compete at the Dutch Open. It goes to show once more that the high performance programme put in place by Master Nikos Jakubiak is working well and is making a positive and meaningful difference for Scottish sport TKD. This is also reflected by the fact that now there are more clubs and more people engaging in sport TKD than ever before. BTCB Scotland’s Chairman, Master William Darlington and the rest of the Executive Committee have committed to helping the sport sector and support the work Master Jakubiak is doing.
Scotland National Team Head Coach, Master Jakubiak commented: “There is a strong sense of unity within our TKD family and people are being genuinely supportive and positive. Since I was appointed National Performance Coach for Scotland I have used the trust and confidence the Executive Committee have shown in my abilities to implement and lead a programme that can help aspiring young Scots achieve outstanding results. Every one of the coaches in our high performance coaching team continues to work untiringly to realise our aims and objectives. We are focused on our jobs and we let our results do the talking.” He continued: "At this year’s Dutch Open the overall winner of the tournament was Croatia with Iran coming second. Croatia has a population slightly smaller than Scotland yet this has not stopped them from being one of the strongest TKD nations in Europe. Scotland can do this too and perhaps even better. Asia has shown to the rest of Scotland that it is possible for Scottish fighters to reach the top at major events. She combined her abilities with lots of good practice and has been very receptive to the expert advice and guidance we offered her. I know for a fact that there are other, equally talented, young players from clubs all over Scotland including: Llanbryde, Aberdeen, Falkirk, Edinburgh, Glasgow and surrounding areas. No doubt there are even more elsewhere we simply do not know of. We hope Asia’s exceptional achievement will inspire them to take that extra step and dedicate the time required to excel in competitive TKD.”
We would like to congratulate all the players for their efforts and wish them further progress and success in the near and distant future.
Any young Scottish players who aspire to excel at major WTF events, but are not part of Scotland’s governing body for Olympic TKD, should remember that the door is always open for them to join our high performance development programme as BTCB Scotland always welcomes new members. To find TKD clubs registered with BTCB Scotland check the relevant page on our website: http://www.taekwondoscotland.org/clubs.html
On day one it was Alan Haston’s first cap with the Scottish National Team as a senior player. Alan’s return to competitive TKD after a several years break has been met with a lot of excitement from many TKD fans in Scotland who remember him from when he was still a junior player. It was about 10 years ago when Alan was selected to represent Great Britain at the Junior World Championship. Soon after that, he was the first person to ever win gold medal for the Scotland National Team at a formal event. This was at an International tournament in Greece with a Scottish squad sanctioned by BTCB Scotland. Those of us who were there will never forget the exciting way he won the final against an unwavering Greek fighter, nor the amazing emotion when the Scottish National Anthem was played at the medal ceremony. Due to various reasons Alan did not continue competing and only returned to competitive TKD last year. In his first game at a major event Alan was thrown straight into deep water having to fight against a full-time player from Mexico National Team. For those of you who are not aware, Mexico has been turning into a TKD powerhouse over recent years and they are consistently producing very tough and skilful players. Alan was not intimidated by his opponent though and took the challenge resolute to win. He produced many opportunities and some exciting moves. His opponent was that bit more experienced and was helped by a malfunction with his electronic body protector which meant Alan’s kicks were not registering. This was not detected until after the next fight had started. Alan did not get the result but displayed the kind of attitude we expect from any player who represents Scotland. He fought with pride, courage, showed determination and kept trying his best up to the very last second of the match. Overall, this is a very promising start at an A-class event for Alan and we look forward to seeing him back in action soon.
Following next was Kristian Kinnon who is now in his first year in the juniors, although not new to competitive TKD. He has already been crowned British Champion in the cadets and has already taken part at one A-class tournament: the British Open. It has been an interesting year so far for Kristian who is learning the ropes in this transition period from cadets to juniors. His first fight was against a fellow Brit from Manchester Aces TKD club who, like Kristian, is also part of the GB junior squad. Kristian displayed his usual passionate attitude but he also managed to pull off several smart moves to overcome the height advantage his opponent had over him. He sealed the victory and moved on to face an even taller player from the Ukrainian National Team. Kristian tried to repeat his previous success but his opponent proved to have more experience and tactical awareness. Kristian lost his second fight but gained valuable understanding of how he needs to develop his game to reach the top.
Day two of the competition started for the Scotland National Team with Hassan Haider in his first fight at an A-class tournament. This was also Hassan’s first year in the junior divisions and he was perhaps a bit overwhelmed by the occasion. Although he started his match looking strong and technically superior to his German opponent he eventually could not maintain the pace and poise he has displayed so well lately in training and other, smaller, competitions. There were lots of near misses over his opponent’s head and had Hassan connected with one of them perhaps that could have been what he needed to help him stay focused. Hassan will be able to take a lot of positive things out of his experience and will return to his next A-class tournament ready to prove he is one of the finest fighters around.
This is the first year for Naomi Strathie in the junior divisions as well and only her second time competing at an A-class tournament. Naomi started her competition against a German fighter whom she was able to overcome without much effort and moved on to the next round where she was up against last year’s Dutch Open medallist, and current British Champion in her division, Katie Bradley. Naomi started the game very well and at the end of the first round she was up by 2-0. This in itself is remarkable evidence of Naomi's improvement, considering that in the previous times they faced each other Katie was the dominant force. This game turned out to be nail biting thriller; with Naomi looking like she could clinch victory at any second. Eventually, Naomi lost 4-6 but it is clear she is more than capable of moving on to the next stage and establishing herself as one of the best British Juniors.
Asia Bailey made history in this year’s Dutch Open by putting the Scottish flag at the top of the medal table of a weight division. This is the first time this has ever happened in the 39 years of the Dutch Open history! A very proud time indeed for everyone involved! An achievement like this deserves its own article so at this point it suffices to say that Asia had four convincing victories to be crowned Dutch Open Champion 2012. She fought against players from Croatia, Germany, Norway and Bulgaria. None of her opponents were able to even keep close to her. She was so determined and strong that her opponent in the final had to withdraw as she was unable to hold back the overpowering rising Scottish star! Asia’s division had many experienced players as well as medallists from last year’s junior European Championship. Her performance is maturing and getting better after each game and what makes it even more exciting is that what we have seen so far is only a fraction of what she is capable of!
Head of Team, Master Bailey, praised all the players in the squad for their impeccable behaviour and the professionalism they displayed both inside and outside the ring. It is quite remarkable really, especially when taking into account the average age of the group was under 16 years.
As mentioned before, Asia’s result has made this squad the most successful Scottish National Team to ever compete at the Dutch Open. It goes to show once more that the high performance programme put in place by Master Nikos Jakubiak is working well and is making a positive and meaningful difference for Scottish sport TKD. This is also reflected by the fact that now there are more clubs and more people engaging in sport TKD than ever before. BTCB Scotland’s Chairman, Master William Darlington and the rest of the Executive Committee have committed to helping the sport sector and support the work Master Jakubiak is doing.
Scotland National Team Head Coach, Master Jakubiak commented: “There is a strong sense of unity within our TKD family and people are being genuinely supportive and positive. Since I was appointed National Performance Coach for Scotland I have used the trust and confidence the Executive Committee have shown in my abilities to implement and lead a programme that can help aspiring young Scots achieve outstanding results. Every one of the coaches in our high performance coaching team continues to work untiringly to realise our aims and objectives. We are focused on our jobs and we let our results do the talking.” He continued: "At this year’s Dutch Open the overall winner of the tournament was Croatia with Iran coming second. Croatia has a population slightly smaller than Scotland yet this has not stopped them from being one of the strongest TKD nations in Europe. Scotland can do this too and perhaps even better. Asia has shown to the rest of Scotland that it is possible for Scottish fighters to reach the top at major events. She combined her abilities with lots of good practice and has been very receptive to the expert advice and guidance we offered her. I know for a fact that there are other, equally talented, young players from clubs all over Scotland including: Llanbryde, Aberdeen, Falkirk, Edinburgh, Glasgow and surrounding areas. No doubt there are even more elsewhere we simply do not know of. We hope Asia’s exceptional achievement will inspire them to take that extra step and dedicate the time required to excel in competitive TKD.”
We would like to congratulate all the players for their efforts and wish them further progress and success in the near and distant future.
Any young Scottish players who aspire to excel at major WTF events, but are not part of Scotland’s governing body for Olympic TKD, should remember that the door is always open for them to join our high performance development programme as BTCB Scotland always welcomes new members. To find TKD clubs registered with BTCB Scotland check the relevant page on our website: http://www.taekwondoscotland.org/clubs.html