Kirstie Alora still got it.
Ten years after winning gold in Naydipaw, the now-33-year-old jin out of Binan, Laguna ended a long wait, ruling the women’s middleweight tournament of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games’ taekwondo tournament after defeating Vietnam’s Thi Huong Nguyen in the final on Saturday at Chroy Changvar Convention Center in Cambodia.
This is Alora’s fourth gold in the regional meet, winning in 2005 in Manila, 2011 in Indonesia, and in 2013.
What came after the Naydipaw games were silver finishes in Kuala Lumpur, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Still, Alora delivered, eking out an emotional 2-1 win over Nguyen.
Alora advanced to the final after beating Cambodia’s Cheang Bunna, 2-0.
The win pushes the Philippine gold haul to 37 with six coming from the PTA.
