Cebuana jin grabs gold medal in world tikefest

CEBU, Philippines - Cebuana jin Mikeala Calamba etched her name in stone as the first Filipina to win an individual gold in the 2012 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships the other day in Tunja, Colombia.

"It is the first time ever for a Filipino to win a gold medal in the individual event in the World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships. This is unprecedented. This will go a long way in inspiring the rest of our taekwondo players to strive harder in our sport," said Tony del Prado, Region 7 chairman of Philippine Taekwondo Association. 

What makes Calamba's victory more interesting is the fact that she is only 15, a junior high school student of the University of San Carlos that competed in the open category.

There were only eight Pinoys who took part in the tournament and Calamba was the lone entry from Cebu.

Performing more than what was expected of her, Calamba clinched the gold in the individual freestyle event over Vietnam’s Van Chau as India’s Rosmaniar Defia and USA’s Ann Bernadette Rodriguez settled for the bronze medals.

Calamba also helped the Philippines win a bronze in the women’s team event together with Rani Ortega and Janice Lagman.

The Phl squad, headed by Grandmaster Sung Chun Hong, the vice president of PTA, and head coach Igor Mella, ended its quest with one gold, one silver and three bronzes.

"We were just hoping for a medal in the team event. Anything more than that would just be bonus.  Never did we expect Mikeala to bag the gold and become world champion in the freestyle event," said Del Prado.

A “hero’s welcome” is expected to be accorded to the young Calamba when she returns home to Cebu tomorrow. (FREEMAN)