RP jins fall in Beijing tiff

BEIJING – Joel Gonzales of Spain denied a potential gold for the Smart/Petron RP taekwondo team after defeating John Paul Lizardo yesterday in the Good Luck Beijing international taekwondo invitational tournament at the University of Science and Technology Beijing gymnasium here.

Standing almost a foot taller than Lizardo, Gonzales delivered a roundhouse to the head with less than a minute left  to squeeze a  2-1 victory and capture the men’s 58-kg title.

Gonzales had a clear hit on Lizardo’s jaw, prompting the judges to reward the long-limbed Spaniard with two points that completely shifted the momentum in his favor.

Lizardo, who slipped past the stealthy Kengo Uchemura of Japan in the semifinals, kept Gonzales under control up to the opening minutes of the third round despite the height handicap.

Kathleen Eunice Alora also had some scintillating moments when she nearly pulled off a upset at the expense of eventual champion Wu Jing Yu in the women’s 49-kg category.

Itching to get even against Wu, Alora dominated the 2007 world champion from China before Wu let loose an axe kick which the judges counted as two points but was contested by Alora herself. That kick awarded Wu a 3-1 victory on her way to the semifinals.