The 9th World Taekwondo Festival & Malaysia Open 2007 held on 29 and 30 June 2007 at Stadium Juana in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia attracted 750 players from 20 countries including Korea, Iran and Australia.
The competition was keen with the players going all out to clinch top honours for their countries and themselves. Some of them, who were not title contenders, used the opportunity to assess their own standards.
Singapore fielded good mixed of players – some for experience while others for the medals.
Joyce Lim justified her selection for the trip by clinching the gold medal. In the process, she dismissed strong challenges from two Malaysian and one Australian opponents.
Also doing us proud were Lanetar Quek, Chew Kai Jun and Shafinas Bte Abdul Rahman. They finished second in their respective categories.
While Lanetar and Shafinas had to overcome two opponents each to reach the finals, Kai Jun had to beat four players for the same spot. He also had the distinction of extinguishing the hopes of a determined, fast and powerful Korean player in the semi-final.
In the finals, Lanetar lost to Australia, Kai Jun to Iran and Shafinas to Korea. They gave their opponents a run for their money. But their occasional lapse of concentration proved to be their undoing.
Singapore also collected eight bronze medals through Dave Ang , Keith Ong, Wesley Ong, Vincent Lim, Patrick Wong, Charlotte Tang, Tessa Tang and Zakirah Bte Zakaria.
The Singapore contingent was headed by Tan Cheng Hui as the Team Manager. He was assisted by the coach, Khor Huat Peng.Said Mr Tan: “I would like to put on record my thanks to the Management Committee for giving our players the opportunity to compete and making the trip possible. Most of all, I would like to thank all the accompanying parents for their support which had made my job that much easier.”