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Kiwi special needs taekwondo champs 'over the moon' after sweeping international competition

December 31, 2020

When Covid-19 threw a spanner in the works for the Taekwondo Special Needs World Games, its Kiwi organiser had been worried when his students would next be able to show off their skills. 

Looking slightly different from its first year in Hawke's Bay, the competition made the jump online and, much to Ben Evans' surprise, they received more interest than ever. 

"We ended up having more of a turnout despite the travel barrier. I was extremely impressed by it," he told 1 NEWS. 

Evans had taken it upon himself to organise the first games held in New Zealand last year as a way to provide opportunities for those with special needs after noting a gap in representation in the sport. 

A total of 76 athletes from 12 countries around the globe battled out for the top spot in this year's world championship. 

Nevertheless, it was the homegrown talent who swept the awards, with New Zealand being crowned the overall winner. Taking away 17 golds, the Kiwi competitors came away with a whopping 34 medals. 

Students like Tupuna Rangi shone bright in the competition. With three wins he came out on top overall and feeling "very proud of himself". 

“He’s quite a champion,” said Evans. “I was very impressed.”

Being able to go ahead with the competition and come out with such a stellar result had left Evans' students feeling "over the moon" after having had other big international events cancelled at the beginning of the year. 

Over 80 athletes from 10 countries attended the event.

He'd been planning on taking some of his students to Australia for a taekwondo showcase just before the April lockdown but had to cancel after the pandemic situation worsened. 

Even next year's world games in the Netherlands remain up in the air at this stage, but for now those competing were able to end their year on a high. 

"We wanted to give opportunities to them and were quite lucky to still compete. 

"It's been really cool to still end the year on a positive note." 

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