De Silva Taekwondo athletes battle bravely at ITF World Cup

De Silva Taekwondo’s Jason ‘The Gladiator’ Carsberg and Ben Halpin were unfortunate to suffer early defeats at the sixth ITF World Cup in Budapest, Hungary.

The De Silva Taekwondo athletes travelled to the Hungarian capital with coach Johann De Silva to take part in the biggest competition of the year. Over 1,800 taekwondo athletes from 58 countries took part at the SYMA Sports Hall between 12-16 October.

Jason and Ben battled bravely, but narrowly lost their bouts. Ben was beaten by eventual bronze medallist Mateusz Mroz in the Senior +85kg category, while Jason lost out to Argentinian Fernando Rampazo in the first round.

However, Shane O’ Rourke, who trains at the De Silva Taekwondo Academy, fared better. Representing Absolute TKD, he delivered a series of graceful and efficient performances to get through to the semi-final of the -85kg category. Shane marginally lost his semi against Argentinian Martin Barreyro, who went on to become champion, but he won a bronze medal for his incredible efforts.

Johann De Silva said: “It was unfortunate to see Jason and Ben go out in the first round, but both couldn’t have done any more as they fought with real heart and determination. They can be proud of their efforts. It was great to see Shane perform so well to get his bronze medal, too.”

You can train with our black belts at De Silva Taekwondo’s Wembley, Ealing and Ruislip academies.

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