Jins remain upbeat for Asiad medal finish

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the absence of injured Olympian Toni Rivero, the Philippine taekwondo team remains confident of the team’s gold medal chances in next month’s 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

“I think we can win a gold medal in the Asian Games; that’s really our target. And the players are focused and working hard to achieve it,” RP coach Rocky Samson said in yesterday’s Scoop sa Kamayan session.

Tapped to carry RP’s fight in quadrennial meet are John Paul Lizardo (finweight), Paul Romero (flyweight), Tshomlee Go (bantamweight), Jeffrey Figueroa (featherweight), Butch Morrison (lightweight) and Marlon Avenido (welterweight) in the men’s division.

Jyra Lizardo (flyweight), Jade Zafra (bantamweight), Karla Alava (featherweight), Camille Manalo (lightweight) and Elaine Alora (middleweight) make up the women’s squad.

Michelle Monterey and Fil-Am Pauline Lopez are being considered for the finweight spot, in lieu of the ACL-hit 2006 Doha Asiad silver medalist Rivero who was supposed to vie in the welterweight class.

Samson said he particularly feels good about the chances of two-time Olympian Go, a runner-up the last time around, as well as Lizardo, a silver medalist in the 2010 Asian championships in Astana, Kazakhstan and Avenido, a bronze medalist in the same tilt.

He also has high hopes on the 6-2 Morrison, who upstaged Korea’s World Championship veteran and Olympic bronze medalist Byng Sup Song for the gold in the Korean Open last month.

“Tshomlee (Go), Japoy (Lizardo) and Marlon (Avenido) are strong in their respective divisions and also Butch (Morrison) since he won our lone gold in the Korean Open,” said Samson.

As part of their Asiad build-up, Samson said the RP jins trained for three weeks in Korea, competed in the tough Korean Open, and had a 10-day session with Korea’s Asiad-bound crew here in Manila.

In the 2006 Asiad in Doha, the RP jins brought home two silver medals, courtesy of Go and Rivero and three bronzes, from Manuel Rivero, Eunice Alora and Veronica Domingo.