Twenty rising stars will represent Australia at the World Taekwondo Cadet Championships in Bosnia and Herzegovina next month after the national team was selected in Morayfield, Queensland.
The selection event saw over 80 Cadets battle it out for a spot in one of the 20 divisions on offer, with athletes who placed first in their nominated division selected for the team.
Flying the flag for Australia in August will be Lawson Knight (One Taekwondo School), Theodore Kaing (Notorious Martial Arts), Kerim Yilmaz (Olympic Taekwondo Centre), Lucas Lai (Notorious Martial Arts), Elijah Wu (Martial Arts Spirit), Jayden Vuong (Revolution TKD & BJJ), Bilal Atay (Hall's Taekwondo), Jack Orchard (Martial Arts Spirit), Leonardo Angell (Musa Taekwondo), Kian Jones (Adelaide Taekwondo Academy), Matilda Purvis (Adelaide Taekwondo Academy), Kierah Ly-Diep (Forza Taekwondo), Mackenzie Macdonald (Hall's Taekwondo), Lacie Gleeson (Hall's Taekwondo) Andrea Ishac (Hall's Taekwondo), Chelsea Gomez (Taya Taekwondo), Phoebe Fan (Adelaide Taekwondo Academy), Elle-Maree Ghetto-Tarantolo (Irontiger Australia), Zahra Karaki (Global Martial Arts AU) and Akon Baak (Total Taekwondo Academy).
Olympic gold medallist Dongmin Cha has been appointed Australian Cadet National Coach as part of his role in delivering his bilateral coach/athlete development partnership between Kukkiwon, the Korean Embassy and Australian Taekwondo.
Rounding out the coaching group will be Jerry Moraitis (Halls Taekwondo), Ruth Hock (Adelaide Taekwondo Academy) and Abby Sangalang (Taya Taekwondo), who will provide further support to Dongmin leading into the competition and while overseas.
The World Taekwondo Cadet Championships will be held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovnia, from August 28 to August 31, 2023.
To see all results for the 2023 World Taekwondo Cadet Championships Selection event, please click here.
Australia enjoyed an impressive campaign at the WT President’s Cup, with six athletes stepping onto the podium and delivering strong performances across the tournament. Winning two silver medals and four bronze, the Australian team showed its quality, resilience, marking their territory on home soil.
Australia’s para taekwondo program will be represented by two athletes on the Gold Coast this month, with Shrijana Ghising and Evie Ruffle set to contest the Australian Open, WT President’s Cup and Oceania Championships in an important competition block ahead of the Para World Championships later this year.
The Gold Coast is set to host two major World Taekwondo sparring events over one massive weekend! From proven senior campaigners to rising prospects pushing into the upper tier, here are 10 Australian athletes to watch when the action begins on the Gold Coast.
