Jason ‘The Gladiator’ Carsberg and Adam ‘Ace’ Bonwick win gold at Holland Cup

Jason ‘The Gladiator’ Carsberg won his first gold medal of the year at the Holland Cup 2016, putting in a standout performance in what was yet another successful tournament for De Silva Taekwondo.

Adam ‘Ace’ Bonwick also won two golds for tuls in what was his first tournament back after injury. Adam also added a bronze in sparring, while Shane O’Rourke won two silvers, and Hannah ‘Hype’ Whittaker returned from The Netherlands with a runners up medal.

After winning bronze and silver medals at the LTSI South East Open 2016 and the PUMA International Open, Jason went one step further in Delph, dominating his division to win gold.

Adam competed in both the junior and senior divisions in Second Degree Tuls, winning both, and he also impressed in his first ever senior sparring competition. He stormed through the opening rounds in the -70kg division, showing great strength and maturity, and although he couldn’t reach the final, he can be proud of his bronze medal.

While Adam was competing his his first senior sparring competition, Hannah ‘Hype’ Whittaker was going for her fourth consecutive Holland Cup title in the -68kg division. She reached the final easily, but missed out on gold in extra time of a hard-fought battle. She was also defeated in the last seconds of her amazing Team Netherlands Vs Team World bout against World Champion Nina Meppelder.

The tournament also saw Calvin ‘Calibos’ Thomas returning to top-level competition after a two-year injury-enforced absence, while PUMA International Open bronze medallist Sekhar Kumar also competed admirably.

Finally, Shane O’Rourke won two silver medals – in his own sparring category and the open weight division.

Johann De Silva, who was ringside on coaching duties at the Holland Cup said: “It was great to see Jason win a gold this year after near misses at the PUMA International Open and LTSI South East Open. I was also pleased to see Calvin return and it’s great for our academies to have two players – Adam and Hannah – competing for Team World. We have come a long way!”

You can join Johann De Silva and his coaches at taekwondo lessons in Wembley, South Ruislip and Ealing.