Dundalk fighters excel at Karate World Championships

Cobra Kan travelled to Killarney to attend the World Kickboxing and Karate Championships earlier this month. This being the first championship to be held since covid-19, fighters were eager to step on the international stage again.

Head coach Patricia McQuillan is well established on the international scene and had no doubt her fighters were going to take the competition by storm.

With a rich history in world championship medals, Cobra Kan have gone from strength to strength over their nearly 40 years in St Gerard’s Hall, Dundalk. 

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This year Cobra Kan took a team of seven students to the championship and each one of them put on a fine display of skill and technique. The team comprised Cian and Caolan O’Murchu, Bradley Hutchinson, Catherine O’Grady, Dominykas Svedas, Roman Browne and Yasmin McDonagh.

Yasmin McDonagh had her first outing on the international scene and is sure to be one to watch in the future. She managed to reach the podium in her first year, with a 3rd place finish in two sections. She has really made a name for herself.

Next up was the fantastic duo of Bradley Hutchinson and Caolan O’Murchu. An outstanding performance from this pair brought home a silver medal in the Men’s traditional kata.

It was the duos first time performing Kata together and they certainly made their mark. Both students also competed in their respective fighting categories with great might. Bradley also joined the men’s fight team and came away with a bronze.

Roman Brown fought incredibly hard to get himself a spot in the finals of the boys 13-16 age category. With so many in his division getting to the finals, this was a fantastic achievement.

Roman fought a well-known Canadian in his final and it was a very tense fight, as it went point for point. The Canadian just beat him in the last second, but Brown took away a silver medal. A huge achievement for someone his age.

Dominykas Svedas fought incredibly well all week to make it to the finals. With a long history of medalling at the world championships, the pressure was on to keep this up.

In the final Dom fought a talented Englishman. Both fighters put on a fantastic display of skill, and both deserved that top spot. Unfortunately, only one could go home with gold and the English raider got the winning point, right as the final buzzer rang. A well-earned silver medal for Dom alongside his bronze medal won in the men’s fight team.

Cian O’Murchu proved himself to be fantastic under pressure and fought his way through the men’s 35+yrs category to the final. After fighting opponents from all over the globe, he put his final opponent from Honduras to rest to come away with the top spot on the podium and a well-earned gold medal. He also came home with a bronze in the men’s fight team.

And not to mention the golden girl herself. Catherine O’Grady coming home with not one but two gold medals from this championship. She fought in the Women’s 18+yrs category and proved herself to be a force to be reckoned with.

Double World Champion is not something many can say they’ve achieved and yet Catherine set her mind to it and worked hard to earn that title.