It went to Bulgaria. Strictly speaking, to Sofia. There, twelve-year-old Ela Ailel Celik, from Duisburg, played her first world ranking tournament in Taekwondo – the only high school student to make it to the finals. After her victories over opponents from Ireland, Serbia and Cyprus, she lost to her Bosnian opponent in the final – however, she had already twice finished third in the European Championships. “Ela is a great talent,” said Levant Tuncat, head coach of LT Sports Club.

World Cup eligibility criteria in view

At the national level, the young Duisburg native Sofia had recommended herself before attending the Open. She finished second at the German Championships, shortly afterwards won a federal ranking tournament, and in the DM final she won against an athlete who was still low. “World ranking tournaments are important now to earn a place on the national cadet team,” Tuncat explains. She finished second in Bulgaria and has already collected a few points, so the LT coach is confident that she will collect more points in the near future to reach the qualifying criteria. If she wins, she will go back to Bulgaria in August, where the World Championships will take place. The first is the German Championship on April 9 in Munster.

The Duisburg club represented LT Sports in Sofia with six athletes. (The)

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