Tachiana Mangin came close to pulling off a major upset, but China’s Ma Jing Yue denied the young Filipina the gold medal in the women’s under-49kg final on Friday at the Toyohashi Gymnasium.
Still, Mangin capped her impressive run with a silver medal, giving the Philippines its second silver in taekwondo and its third medal in the sport at the Games.
Already assured of becoming the first Filipina jin to win a medal since Pauline Lopez claimed bronze in the women’s under-57kg class at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, the incoming University of Santo Tomas sophomore showed she belonged on the continental stage.
Mangin and Ma battled toe-to-toe in the opening round, but despite neither fighter scoring, the Chinese jin registered more successful hits to gain the advantage.
The second round followed a similar script, with Ma again edging Mangin in the exchanges to secure the superiority decision and the gold medal.
Mangin, meanwhile, settled for silver after a spirited performance in her Asian Games debut.
