The Australian Taekwondo team brought its overseas tour to a triumphant close at the 8th Asia Taekwondo Indonesian Open (G2) in Jakarta, delivering some of the best results of the year. Against a fiercely contested international from South East Asia and beyond, the Australians returned eight medal: four gold, one silver and three bronze. In a remarkable show of strength, the team also accrued four major team awards for the event.

In a resounding endorsement of the program's depth and preparation, Australia was named Best Team of the competition. Gaby Blewitt was recognised as the Best Female Athlete of the entire event, while the Australian coaching staff completed the clean sweep by claiming both the Best Male Coach and Best Female Coach awards. The awards reflected hard work and overcoming adversity to compete at a high level at international events.

Juliet Lahood set the tone for the campaign, getting Australia off to an electric start and refusing to drop a single round across the entire day. She powered past Indonesia's Siti Maharani, the Philippines' Caitlin Carlos and Indonesia's Kamilia Virmansyah to reach the final, where she overcame world No. 27 Chisaki Tomita of Japan to claim gold in commanding fashion.

Reba Stewart demonstrated great class and composure against every opponent she faced, dropping nothing on her path to gold. She defeated Indonesia's Indah Permata Sari 2-0, India's Rodali Barua 2-0, and finished the day with a 2-0 victory over India's Jyoti Yadav.

Gaby Blewitt was at her clinical best, winning each of her four contests 2-0. She accounted for South Korea's Hye Ryeong Kim, Indonesia's Oktavia Dewi and India's Peehu Kumari before defeating Singapore's Ingrid Poetri Iskandar in the final. Her flawless run earned her not only gold but also the Best Female Athlete award across the entire competition, a fitting recognition of a truly dominant performance.

The men's -68 kg division proved one of the most heavily contested of the event, with Australians Matty Summerfield and Xavier Nikolovski drawn on the same side of the bracket. Both were flawless against the rest of the field, winning each of their other bouts 2-0. Nikolovski defeated Indonesia's Aga Novean and Mongolia's Enkhbayar Gantulga to reach the semi-final, while Summerfield saw off Hong Kong's Ming Pong Chung and the Philippines' Sturdy Jay Gilbuena. The two Australians then met in a gripping all-Australian semi-final, locked at one round apiece heading into the decider. Nikolovski had beaten Summerfield in last year's U21 World Championship Selection Event, but this time Summerfield got his revenge to advance to the gold-medal match. Summerfield was brilliant against world No. 20 Wai Fung Lo of Hong Kong to take his place at the top of the podium. Nikolovski's efforts earned a well-deserved bronze.

Bianca Motta brought Australia's tour to a close with a hard-earned silver medal after a courageous run to the final. She won three bouts along the way; getting through the round of 16 against India's Deeksha Sharma, defeating South Korea's Jungmin Oh 2-0 in the quarter-final, and holding on for a third-round finish against the United States' Soraya Villa. She was brave in the final but went down only narrowly to world No. 6 Yi-Shan Jiang of Chinese Taipei, a superb result against one of the best in the world.

Ryan Yoo secured his place on the podium with three wins across his campaign. He got past both Indonesian fighters, Made Deva Suarbawa and Hafidz Doni, 2-0, before edging Hong Kong's King Fung Chan 2–1 in a tight deciding round. His run ended in a 2-0 semi-final loss to Russia's Bitsuev Kantemir, but not before he had shown genuine grit and quality throughout.

Stacey Hymer advanced straight through the round of 16 and was fantastic in defeating South Korea's Yurim Nam 2-0. She fought bravely in her semi-final but fell just short against Indonesia's Silvana Lamanda, taking home a well-deserved bronze.

Aiden Stilley went down 2-1 to Pakistan's Hamzah Omar Saeed — the eventual gold medallist in the division — in a bout that could have gone either way. Aiden can hold his head high after a successful Asian tour.

The broader tour was not without its setbacks. Leon Sejranovic and Saffron Tambyrajah both sustained injuries during the Korean leg of the trip. Sejranovic broke his hand in his opening bout at the Korean Open, while Tambyrajah suffering both a hamstring and adductor tear at the Kim Un Yong Cup. The entire team wishes them both a speedy recovery and a swift return to the mats.

After a couple of weeks overseas competing across Korea and Indonesia, the team has now made its way home for some well-earned rest. This was an exceptional campaign in every respect, one that reflected not only the talent within the squad but the effort, resilience and determination of every athlete who stepped onto the mat. It is brilliant to see this effort and determination begin translating into success on the podium.

Australian Taekwondo extends its sincere thanks to Combat Australia, and to coaches Seoukhun Lee and Ryan Carneli, for an outstanding campaign to Jakarta. We could not be prouder of this team, and we look forward to what the future holds with this athlete group.