Taekwondo Canada – Taipei, Taiwan—Canadian athletes made their first two trips to the bronze-medal step of the podium at the World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships on Saturday in Taipei, Taiwan.

Bhajan Mann locked up the final spot on the podium in the men’s under 65 division, while fellow Ontario-based members on the Canadian squad, Jina Ha and Jinsu Ha, teamed up for a bronze medal of their own in the freestyle poomsae pair over 17 competition.

“It was very humbling to stand on the podium. The support of all the other athletes really made it a special moment for me,” said Mann.

Mann shared the podium with Korea’s Dong Kyun Seo who was crowned world champion and Ecuador’s Marcelo Prado.

The 18-year-old Jina Ha, and 21-year-old Jinsu Ha locked up third spot with a strong performance in the freestyle pairs competition for those over 17.

“I just need to thank my coaches and all of the athletes cheering us on here,” said Jina Ha, who was battling through and ankle injury. “Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to compete today.”

The Canadian duo finished the second round in sixth place, but knew what was needed to be fixed up for to have a shot at the podium.

“We just adjusted a few things. We were able to clean it up and put out the best performance we could,” added Ha.

Korean National Team members Jinman Kim and Yeowon Gwak finished on top of the division. Chinese Taipei National Team athletes, Chia-en Su and Po-Kai Chen celebrated the silver medal.

Canadian athletes have had strong showings earlier in the week, despite not landing on the podium until Saturday.

Complete Results:

Thursday Results:

Eric Lam – U17 Male Individual: 16th
Alissa Juman – O17 Female Individual Freestyle: 11th
Rhon Lagran and Maria Dela Cruz – U30 Pair: 12th
Mohsen Kazemi – U60 Male Individual: 10th
Bhajan Mann, Tim Johl, Reza Rabiei – O30 Male Team: 11th
Valerie Ho, Michelle Lee, Jordan Senko, Ethan Lippman and Anton Carreon – U17 Freestyle Team: 6th

Friday Results:
Team Canada put down some strong showings on day 2 of the World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships. The following is a complete is list of Canadian results:
Ethan Lippman – U17 Male Individual Freestyle: finished 5th in group stage, did not advance
Samuel Lee – U30 Male Individual: finished in round of 32
Emilia Camastro – U40 Female Individual : finished in round of 32
Rosalind Widmer – U50 Female Individual: finished 16 in semi-final
Shelley Vettese-Baert – U60 Female Individual: finished in top 8 in final
Hai Nguyen – U50 Male Individual: finished 9th in semi-final
Hans Mecking – O65 Male Individual : 12th in preliminary
Terrence Ng, Daniel Zhen, William Tam – Cadet Male Team: finished 9th in semi
Camila Ruszkiewicz, Sabrina So, Christine Cho – Cadet Female Team : finished
Faith Tai, Rose Lagran, Mellisa Lam – Junior Female Team : 9th
Lisa-Mae Petropoulos, Emilia Camastro, Belinda Co – O30 Female Team : finished 9th in group stage

The Canadians are among more than 1,600 competitors from the world who will compete in the premiere event for Poomsae competition being hosted by the Taipei Taekwondo Federation.

Taekwondo Canada is the National Sport Governing Body for Taekwondo in Canada. We are recognized by World Taekwondo, Pan American Taekwondo Union, Sport Canada, Own the Podium, Canadian Olympic Committee, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee. Taekwondo Canada sends national teams to the Olympic Games, World Taekwondo Championships, Pan Am Taekwondo Championships, Pan Am Games, World Taekwondo Junior Championships, Poomsae World Championships, Pan Am Poomsae Championships, and is also targeting the 2020 Paralympic Games.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Chris Dornan

Taekwondo Canada

T: 403-620-8731

E-mail: cdornan@taekwondo-canada.com