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News & Events

Paul Manning ITF World Championships in Ottawa

Recent tournament news involves Paul Manning at the Choi Jung Hwa, ITF World Championships in Ottawa, Canada. Paul competes as a lightweight, but while 64kg may put him in this weight category, what you are about to read will assure you that he is a heavyweight in terms of ability. At the age of 16, he started training in Bandon; this was back in 1996 under instructors Ger Allen and Brenda Greene. By 2007 he had competed in the Open world championships and in the ITF World championships in Birmingham, but he was defeated early in both tournaments. Undefeated in his love of the sport he opened a club in Blackrock, in 2008, and by the summer of 2009 Paul had taken the decision to start serious training as a competitor. He trained twice weekly with Master Dermot Walsh in Wilton, and again on Sunday mornings with Master Dalton at squad training in Tralee, and so, in 2009 Paul entered the WKA Kick- boxing World Championships in Spain, where he took a bronze medal. In 2010, again, he took a bronze at the ITF World Championships in South Korea, and went on to take silver in the Open World Championships held that year at Telford in the UK, and finally at the British Championships he won Gold. Paul was on his way to great things, he took Gold in all Munster, Leinster & Connaught Championships, and in the Irish International Championships. His list of accolades was added to in 2011 with gold at the British Championships. In 2012, with his 4th Degree Black Belt, at the Holland Cup he once again achieved Gold, all the while running his successful Club in Blackrock. That's the history of Paul, but let's gets back to the news of the moment; recently Paul represented Ireland in Canada, as a member of ITF Eireann, along with Coach Ger Allen. He received a bye in the first round of the competition, but this lucky ticket had to be paid by his first match with a formidable Russian opponent, whose prowess was already being spoken of, following a win against a tough Venezuelan competitor. Paul proved his mettle with this first match however, and went on from this initial conquest to beat an Australian challenger. This achievement brought Paul to the semi-final, where his bout with an Argentinean opponent was a draw, and so they fought an extra round. It looked as though Paul had definitely met his match in the laudable physical ability and training of the Argentine, as another draw brought them to golden point. The following 2 minutes ticked by in slow motion, as the crowd almost held their breaths and the contestants knew they had given it their all. Finally the decision was announced, and Paul along with his Irish team cheered the decision, with all 4 judges scoring Paul's point. He was through to the final; the next day Paul would be center stage with another Argentine, and as his previous opponent had demonstrated, the Argentinean team were formidable opponents. On the day of the final, the atmosphere in the arena was electric; the spectators knew that this would be a match to remember. The first round was tightly contended with the Argentinean ahead on scores. Paul came back to take the 2nd round, and so the judges called a draw. Just as the fans had expected, there would be an extra round. Paul came out with everything he had, the crowd knew this Irish man was putting all his strength into the match, and cheered as he landed several very clean scores. When a draw was scored again, the Argentinean supporters were cheering their man, and rightly so, as he was proving himself an excellent competitor. The majority of the crowd, however, were backing the Irish man's fierce determination. Whether they were supporting him, or he was inspiring them with his strong spirit, it was hard to say. Suddenly, the Golden point was a very quickly landed, clean side kick, and Paul Manning had won the championship. The crowd went into uproar in appreciation of the exceptional championship level competition they had just witnessed, they were in fully voiced admiration of the excitement, tension and display of prowess; the cheering was deafening. A fitting tribute to the new Irish world champion Paul Manning. All at CMAP congratulate Paul on his well deserved win, and wish him every success in the future, especially for his next competition at the Open European championship in Krakow, Poland. Report Leonard Coughlan Cork Martial Arts Promotions (CMAP)

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