The Philippine national poomsae jins bagged a total of 12 medals, three of them gold, to close out a productive campaign at the 4th Asian Taekwondo Poomsae Championships, Monday at the Marriott Convention Center Grand Ballroom.
National team coach Jean Pierre Sabido led the charge among his wards after capturing the gold in the team male over-30 event, with teammates Glenn Lava and Ernesto Guzman Jr. The trio snatched the mint after scoring 7.94 in the finals. Iran took the silver, while Korea and Chinese Taipei took the bronze medals.
The Filipino jins swept the individual golds in the freestyle events. In the male category, Jeordan Dominguez bested the field with a 7.72 mark. Thailand’s Sakdinun Konggapun followed in second, and Chinese Taipei’s Tao Hung Hwang and Truong Phuoc Nguyen rounded up the podium. FEU fourth-year jin Juvelyn Crisostomo dominated the women’s event after scoring 7.28, and Pich Chapha Tanakitcharoenpat of Thailand took the silver. The bronze medals went to Vietnam’s Thi Mong Nguyen and Chinese Taipei’s Chia Ying Hseh.
The silver medalists for the Philippines were June Ninobla (individual male -50), and Jocel Lyn Ninobla, Clare Therese Gascon, and Angelica Jyce Gaw (team female -30).
Dustin Jacob Mella, Raphael Enrico Mella, and Rodolfo Reyes Jr. also snared the silver medal. The RP triumvirate actually tied with Vietnam with a score of 8.26, but the former took the silver due to superior performance marks.
The other participants, except for the mixed pair +30 jins, claimed the bronze medals in their respective categories. Dulce Perez placed third in individual female -50, while Jaime Gonzaga and Joel Lacsamana took the individual male +60 and -60 bronzes, respectively. UAAP standouts Dustin Mella and Rinna Babanto finished in fourth, which is also good for a bronze, in the mixed pair -30 category.
Freestyle poomsae jins took the other two bronzes. It was the other UP-DLSU pair of Lady Maroon Janna Dominique Oliva and Green Jin McAvyngyr Alob who took the bronze in mixed pair. Oliva and Alob, along with Jerel Anthony Dalida, and individual gold medalists Crisostomo and Dominguez, finished off the day with another bronze in the mixed team event.
After the awarding ceremonies, head coach Sabido shared to Tiebreaker Times his delight on the team’s performance. He said, “The players did well. I think we have improved on our results two years ago.” The former UP Maroon also relayed the very unique situation of the winning men’s team. Sabido narrated, “I am from Mindanao, Lava is from Visayas, and Guzman is from Luzon. We play a very important role in the development of poomsae in the country.”
The World Champion was also happy with the performance in light of the decision of the Asian Taekwondo Union to include poomsae in the program of the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. “This is good, especially since poomsae is now official in the Asian Games,” he closed.
Photos courtesy of Martin San Diego of Fullcourtfresh.com
