Singapore finished second in the female division of the 11th Asian Cities Gold Cup Taekwondo Championships which attracted 16 teams from 8 countries including powerhouses in the sport like China, Chinese Taipei and Iran.
The tournament held on 3 and 4 March 2007 in Hongkong allowed our players the opportunity to assess their skills among some of the best players in the region. They did well and had 2 gold, 1 silver and 5 bronze medals and the second overall title to show for their efforts.
The two gold medals came from Lanetar Quek and Tessa Tang.Lanetar was in her elements when she kicked her way impressively, furiously and courageously to the final. Standing between her and the gold medal was the current SEA Games medalist from Malaysia. She was not intimidated by her opponent’s reputation or fine performance during the run-up to the meeting.
Drawing from her bag of tricks, Lanetar forced her opponent to make some uncharacteristic mistakes in order to score. When the bell signaled the end of the match, Lanetar was comfortably ahead. She triumphed 3-1.
In contrast, Tessa seemed to have it easier although she had a Taiwanese to contend with. The Taiwanese was determined to stop Tessa from taking the crown. But alas her determination was no match for Tessa’s tactics. She coolly chalked up the scores and ended the match 7-0 midway through the third round. According to the competition rule, a match had to be stopped and the winner declared if there was a 7-point gap.
The silver medal was contributed by Dawn Ang.
Dawn met the current SEA Games gold and Commonwealth silver medalist in the final. She knew that she had to give her all to give the Malaysian a good fight let alone beat her. Although she did that, the Malaysian had answers to everything Dawn threw at her. The result: 2-0 in her opponent’s favour.
The 5 bronze medals came from Jason Ong, Low Chuan Kai, Stella Lim, Joyce Lim and Jason Tan.
The success of the team could be attributed in no small part to the encouragement and support of Ms Ng Lee Noi (STF Treasurer), Mr and Mrs Darren Tang (parents of Charlotte and gold medalist Tessa), Mdm Ow Yong Lay Heok (Nicholas Lau’s mother), Michelle Ong (Jason Ong’s sister), Merly Laperme (Club Coach) and Vanessa Lau (Nicholas Lau’s sister) who were there for the players.
Singapore Flagbearers
Coach – Wong Liang Ming
Players (Male) – Nicholas Lau
Hong Jia Wei
Jason Ong
Vincent Chua
Woon Yong Chuang
Low Chuan Kai
Ang Heng Teck
Sherman Wee
Samuel Lee
Jason Tan
Players (Female) – Stella Lim
Lanetar Quek
Joyce Lim
Dawn Ang
Charlotte Tang
Tessa Tang