“We have a lot of young, very talented competitors in Ireland, so we hope we can make a big impact in future tournaments” projects Paul Manning, Vice President of Taekwon-Do Alliance Ireland.
This job of building new talent for the future does not prevent Ireland from going to the ITF World Championships 2022 with the expectation of medaling. “James Dywer (Senior Male) is the favorite to retain his heavyweight gold,” says Vice President Paul Manning who is also an assistant national team coach along with maestro Chris McCabe.
“I’m looking forward to the World Cup. I personally hope to succeed in my sparring category. I also have some students participating who I think have a chance of winning a medal.”
The team going to the Netherlands will consist of 57 competitors, 4 referees and 11 coaches making it the biggest Irish team since the 2010 championships in Korea.
Paul Manning explains that his preparation for this competition was done at his Cork club “Blackrock” during the week while on “weekends competitors from other clubs in the area come together for more intense training.”
Finally, it highlights the United Kingdom and Argentina as the great candidates for this ITF World Championships 2022.