LSBU Alumnus becomes Taekwondo National Champion
LSBU employee Daniel Walters, a former elite athlete scholar at LSBU won the prestigious title of GB National Taekwondo champion at the weekend in the highly competitive Olympic -68kg category.
Daniel Walters takes the top spot on the podium
Daniel graduated from the BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science course in 2012 and has worked at the LSBU Sports Centre ever since.
After suffering a potentially career ending knee injury in 2011 where he snapped his posterior cruciate ligament and damaged several intra-articular elements of the knee, Daniel’s recent triumph is a real story of determination and desire to succeed.
On the 7th September Daniel stepped on to the 8 x 8 ring for his first fight at the National Championships, 2013. As is often the case with first fights this was a tense affair and Daniel struggled to relax in to his natural game-play. However, although somewhat of a battle, he successfully came through with a 4-3 victory.
In his second fight Daniel appeared much more relaxed and was able to dictate the rhythm of the match by manipulating the distance of game-play effectively. After some brief exchanges Daniel sent a message to the remaining contestants by stopping the match early with a back leg turning kick to his opponent’s head. Such was the force of the blow that his opponent’s nose was badly broken leaving him unable to continue.
Daniel was now full of confidence and entered his semi-final match against last years’ bronze medallist with a dominant mindset. From the start of the fight Daniel dominated the centre of the ring and negated his much taller opponent’s front leg, preventing his opponent from gaining any momentum. Daniels continual forward pressure served to suffocate his opponent such that frustration crept in with the inevitable errors being effectively punished by Daniel’s counter game. The final result was a 6-3 win and Daniel progressed to the final.
In the final Daniel met a very dynamic opponent who had shown a very varied and explosive game-play style in his previous matches, a style that Daniel himself is well known for. With the gold medal in sight Daniel again seemed to be slightly tense and much of his early work was somewhat forced and this led to some early mistakes. By the end of the 2nd round Daniel trailed 8-6. However, Daniel’s supporters need not have worried as Daniel started the 3rd round with an array of explosive techniques and combinations. Several head shots and spins later Daniel had done an amazing turn around scoring 10 points to his opponents 2 in the final round with the final score being a 16-10 victory to Daniel Walters.
This was a phenomenal achievement for Daniel and is a true testament to his hard work, determination and undoubted ability. It has been a hard battle back from injury but this may spell the start of the next chapter for Daniel.