Teen taekwondo fighter earns first dan black belt

FOURTEEN-year-old Elizabeth Stone is possibly the country’s youngest taekwondo fighter to earn a first dan black belt.
And it means dad, Master Jamuga Stone’s legacy in sports and taekwondo in particular will live on long after he is gone.
Apart from his sons Nelson and Andrew who started their active sporting careers with taekwondo, Elizabeth (Eli) is now making a mark for herself.
The Grade 9 student at Mareeba State High School in North Queensland was graded and awarded the first dan black belt by Master Trainer and “father of Australian taekwondo” Chong Chul Rhee on Sept 9.
Proud dad Jamuga Stone said for Eli to have been awarded the ranking at only 13 meant that she has a lot promise to climb up the ranks in the martial art and represent the country one day in Pacific Games or the Olympics.
Her ranking, however, was under the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) but an arrangement could be made for Eli to gain recognition by the World Taekwondo Federation under which the sport is contested at Olympic level.
“Eli holds a lot of promise for the sport in the country. We have had female fighters representing the country at international events but fade away after that due to mindset or lifestyle,” Stone said adding that he was prepared to see her daughter continue in the sport for as long as she was able and willing to.
Eli turns 17 in 2019 and her father believes that the youngster will be in her prime then and make a strong case to represent PNG the Samoa Pacific Games.
“My dream is to represent PNG one,” Eli enthused.
To do that she would first need to convert her ITF ranking into a WTF ranking to be eligible and with dad’s connections in martial arts that should not be too difficult.
Besides her sporting aspirations, Eli wants to continue her education to university level and become a marine biologist one day.