Black belt fighters from Yung Yun Taekwondo in Springvale, from left, Michael Nguyen, Permata Nada Radjatjut, Kevin Taing, Seda Dimirkiran and Sung Ho Lee will represent Victoria next month after medal-winning performances at the state championships.By Paul Pickering
FIVE young black belts from Springvale’s Yung Yun Taekwondo have fought their way into the Victorian state team for the National Championships in Adelaide next month.
Seda Dimirkiran, Michael Nguyen, Kevin Taing and Permata Nada Radjatjut all won gold medals at the Victorian Taekwondo Championships at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Saturday, 4 and Sunday, 5 August, while Sung Ho Lee also won bronze to book his ticket to Adelaide.
Dimirkiran, the veteran of the team at age 15, claimed a stunning victory on the Saturday despite being the youngest competitor in her female 15-29-year-old class.
The Noble Park Secondary College student displayed her fighting qualities by overcoming a corked thigh and a dislocated finger, which she sustained during the competition.
In fact, it wasn’t until after she completed her junior competition the next day that Dimirkiran told her instructor she was hurt.
While the injuries hampered her performance in the junior class, Dimirkiran later explained that her fighting philosophy didn’t allow her to give up.
“I believe there’s no such thing as pain,” the gutsy Keysborough resident said.
Her instructor, Yoshika Kero, said it was a typically determined performance.
“She thinks she’s a fighter and she can’t whinge or complain – that’s very like her,” Kero said.
In addition to their regular sessions with master instructor Yun Jung Bang, Dimirkiran and her successful club-mates will train with the Victorian team every weekend before the National Championships, which begin on 20 September.
Last year Dimirkiran missed out on qualifying for the Australian team by just one point in her final fight.
She said coming so close had given her the resolve to go one better this year.
“It just makes me more aggressive to prove them it should have been me,” Dimirkiran said.
