Currie leads field at Taekwondo Oceania Open
Fighters will look to garner world ranking points ahead of October’s World Championships. 11 May 2017Australia’s Steven Currie is among the top-ranked fighters expecting to take on the Oceania Para Taekwondo Open from Saturday (13 May) in Auckland, New Zealand.
The third edition of the Oceania Open is a G4/G2 event, allowing athletes to improve their world rankings, while athletes from Oceania will earn more points. Athletes will compete in both Kyorugi and Poomsae sport classes.
Worlds silver medallist from 2015 Currie will lead the field in the Oceania region, coming in at No. 6 in the men’s under 75kg K42 and looking to improve ahead of October’s World Championships in London, Great Britain.
This will be the first time New Zealand will host the competition, as the last edition was held in Suva, Fiji.
It was there that Steven Currie became the first Para taekwondo fighter from the Oceania region to be ranked in the world’s top five after beating Poland’s Damian Kubiak in the final.
Organisers expect the men’s under 75kg K42 group to be especially competitive with Germany’s No. 4 Hasim Celek and the USA’s No. 6 Felix Sabates both participating.
The Oceania Open will conclude on Sunday (14 May).