BEIJING – A Mexican coach said the Filipino jins lack mental toughness. The taekwondo president said they couldn’t handle pressure. A long-time Korean resident mentor said they don’t have the killer instinct.
They all mean the same thing: After years of training, it all boils down to the last six minutes of an Olympic match where the winner is not the most skilled fighter anymore but one who plays tough and plays with all his guts.
Norberto Romero, technical staff member for the Mexican team, told The STAR their entry, Guillermo Perez, came into flyweight (-58kg) class as one of the underdogs, being the second placer in the Pan American qualifying tournament for the Beijing Olympics and silver medalist from the Athens Olympics.
Top favorite in the event was Chu Mu Yen, who lost in the quarterfinal and announced his retirement from the sport.
He was in the same upper bracket of the division as Tshomlee Go.
Perez moved past Michael Harvey of Great Britain, 3-2, in the round of 16 and edged Rohullah Nikpai of Afghanistan, 2-1, in the semifinal, setting himself up for the gold with Yulis Gabriel Mercedes of the Dominican Republic.
“This boy had guts, very brave, and he believed before he went to the Olympics that he would win the gold medal,” said Romero. “He knew he would win because he believed he would win.”
“Both fighters were tied at 1-1 until the last round, and our Mexican coach was mad and shouting at him, even cursing him, and Perez told his coach in the last 20 seconds ‘Don’t worry coach, I will win’, and he went on to win,” said Romero.
The final score was 1-1, with Perez winning the gold by superiority.
“Winning in the games is 90 percent mental, only 10 percent physical,” said Romero, adding that Perez was aided by a psychologist in his run-up for the Games.
Taekwondo president Robert Aventajado said the Filipino people, looking for a medal after two weeks of frustrations, placed too much trust and hope on Go and Toni Rivero and put too much pressure on both fighters.
“What we did not expect was the tremendous pressure that would be on the shoulders of our athletes after the athletes that went ahead of us all failed,” Aventajado told The STAR. “The whole country pinned its hope on taekwondo. We wanted to deliver, but this was not the case. The pressure was just too much on Toni and we were hoping she could fight as if there was no pressure.”
Mediaman and PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad said he had interviewed the Thai coach, who told him they were not putting any pressure whatsoever on their player Chutchawal Khawlaor, who is also on the same upper bracket as Go.
“All they tell their player is to go to the match, enjoy and have fun,” said Trinidad.
Khawlaor won his first match, then beat Go’s tormentor Ryan Carneli of Australia in the quarterfinal bout before bowing to Perez in the semifinal.
“Go and Rivero were too pressured to fight. They became very cautious and tentative,” said Trinidad.
When asked about the campaign of Go and Rivero, Sung Chon Hong, the taekwondo vice president who has been in the Philippines for 30 years, clenched his fist and thrust it forward with the fury of a master trainer.
“They don’t have the guts, the killer instinct,” he said, still clenching his fist, referring to the lack of aggressiveness on the part of the two taekwondo jins. “There’s only one factor – the killer instinct.”
“All are talented. In sports the factor is physical but in the Olympics one fights at the highest level because all of them are the finest in the world. You need more than just skills and physical strength,” he said.
“Killer instinct, that’s what we are going into when we get back to Manila,” he said.
He said Go and Rivero had undergone Marine-like “survival” training and have been through the most difficult, unorthodox Korean program for two months.
A blackbelt who was behind the growth of taekwondo in the Philippines, he said the contestant’s pre-disposition on the day of the competition is the biggest factor in winning or losing a match.
“If my opponent is not so good, when I wear the armor and I feel I am weak, I have to survive this feeling (of fear),” said Hong.