Will Wright didn’t place in the 2014 Junior Pan-American Championships karate competition in Lima, Peru held in late August. Yet, he still performed well in the eyes of his sensei Chris Taneda and instructor Mike Ditson.
“I thought he dominated probably the first three quarters of the fight,” said Taneda, who watched it on the Internet. “At the end I’m not sure what happened.”
Wright and his opponent were tied 1-1 at the end and tie breakers are decided by the official, who makes a decision based on a set of criteria. The official went with the Peruvian.
“Fighting a guy from Peru, when you’re in that situation, you can’t really leave it in the judge’s hand,” said Taneda. “You have to put a little bit more emphasis. Unfortunately he didn’t win.”
Wright was then knocked out of competition when the Peruvian he lost to ended up competing for a bronze medal. Had he advanced to the gold medal bout, Wright would have been able to compete again. Wright was also part of the Canadian kumite team, but didn’t compete since the first two Canadians lost their matches.
“When I looked at the competition, Will was definitely in the middle of things,” said Taneda. “I think for Will’s first time at an international event like that, I’m really proud of the way he did.”