Nhan Hoang isn’t daunted by a busy schedule. The 26-year-old has qualified for this year’s taekwondo world championships in an incredible five events.
Hoang booked his place on the Australian team after a dominant performance at the All Australian International Taekwondo Federation national championships which were held in Melbourne last month.
The Yarraville resident won gold in the individual sparring, individual pattern, team sparring, team power and self-defence routine and will now represent Australia in those events next August in Korea.
Competing on the big stage is nothing new for Hoang, who has made himself a regular feature in some of the taekwondo world’s biggest competitions.
Since his first international meet in 2006, Hoang has represented Australia six times.
His biggest wins have included gold medals in the international martial arts games in 2008 and 2012 and a bronze medal at the ITF taekwondo senior world championship in Bulgaria last year.
Locally, Hoang trains at the International Taekwon-do Defence Force in Sunshine North where he is tutored by national coach Danny Kordanovski.
“I never thought I would get this far in the sport,” Hoang said. “When I started I just wanted to give it a go. I didn’t think I would ever compete in world championships.
“When the opportunity came up, Danny asked me if I wanted to do it and we just decided to. I didn’t think much of it actually. I just take it all as it comes. Competing in all those big events, they have all been great experiences.”
Hoang won’t be the only member of International Taekwon-do Defence Force to battle at the world championships.
The club has a staggering six athletes set to compete at the event with Emily Nguyen, Hoa Le, Kevin Hoang, Tony Nguyen and Phillip Le also qualifying.
“Our club standard is so high,” Hoang said. “We had seven guys trying out for the world championships and six of us made it. Our club’s standard is amazing. It is good for training as well; we all help and train each other.”
Further highlighting the club’s dominance in the sport, the International Taekwon-do Defence Force won 31 gold medals, 15 silver medals and nine bronze medals at the national championships. With the world titles eight months away, Hoang says his next goal is to “train his guts out” to ensure he’ll be ready when the time comes.
