Sofia Querubin in the middle of a taekwondo gold rush
A devastating defeat at the start of the year only made taekwondo star Sofia Querubin stronger as she put together a strong of gold medal performances.
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Rocky Balboa famously said: “It’s not about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
This year, 12-year-old taekwondo star Sofia Querubin encountered the toughest challenge of her young sporting career when she suffered a gruelling defeat at the Australian national team selections for the World Cadet Championships.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve faced in taekwondo because it was my dream to go to the World Cadet Championships,” the Quakers Hill resident said.
“But I worked hard and in June I fought the same girl that I lost to at selections, beating her and getting back-to-back gold medals at the Oceania Presidents Cup and the Australian Open.”
Sofia’s loss only served to make her stronger as she went on to claim a gold medal at the Kimunyong Cup International Open in Korea in July.
She is the only Australian to ever win a gold medal in that competition.
Sofia said she hopes to continue learning from her defeats on the way to one day representing Australia at an Olympic Games.
“My ultimate sporting goal is to represent Australia at the Olympics in either 2024 or 2028,” she said.
“I just need to keep putting the hard work in, conquering challenges and getting the victory.”
Sofia is a Blacktown Advocate Junior Sports Star nominee for the 2019 Local Sports Stars competition, which is proudly sponsored by Featherdale Wildlife Park and Bankstown Sports.
The awards recognise and reward talented athletes across a wide range of sports, as well as the hardworking volunteers who keep associations running each weekend.
For more information or to nominate someone you know, go to localsportsstars.com.au
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