Rookie nails silver in World poomsae

MANILA, Philippines - Rookie Marvin Gabriel delivered a silver medal under pressure while cousins Rani Ann Ortega, Janice Lagman and Camille Alarilla bagged the bronze in the women’s first team event at the sixth World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Vladivostok, Russia, last weekend.

Gabriel, 17, finished second to Korea’s Yu-seok Kim in the 14-18 men’s individual juniors division. Settling for the bronze were Turkey’s Habip Okeu and Iran’s Mohamed Aderi. It was the first medal won by the Philippines in the event considered one of the toughest categories in the world competitions that started in 2006.

The UST freshman from Nueva Vizcaya also claimed a bronze in the first pairs division with 18-year-old Shaneen Sia. Ortega, Lagman and Alarilla capped the Philippines’ harvest with a bronze, pushing the country up to 10th place overall in the medal standings. There were 570 athletes from 52 countries in the three-day meet where 18 gold medals went up for grabs at the 1,061-seat Olympiets Sports Complex. Other countries that garnered medals but ranked below the Philippines were China, Denmark, Turkey, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Holland and Thailand.

Additionally, the Philippines pocketed a bronze in the free-style poomsae exhibitions, which featured a routine with taekwondo techniques performed to music and choreography. Vietnam won the gold with a 7.58 score and Turkey, the silver with 7.50. The Philippines tallied 7.38.

World Taekwondo Federation president Chungwon Choue announced that next year, free-style poomsae will be introduced as a regular event in international competitions to blend the ancient tradition with new, dynamic and artistic forms.

The Philippines had brought home a gold in each of the last two stagings of the world joust. At the fourth championships in Cairo, Ortega, Lagman and Alarilla hit paydirt in the women’s first team event in 2009. Last year, Jean Pierre Sabido, Brian Sabido and Anthony Ray Matias captured the gold in the men’s first team event. Ortega, Lagman and Alarilla failed to defend their crown, winding up fifth.

 “Although we didn’t win gold this time, the team performance really went up with the new medals in the individual and pairs events where we had never won medals before,” said head of delegation Igor Mella. “Our world champion ladies team returned to the podium with a third place finish, an improvement from fifth last year. We’re excited and encouraged by the performance of Marvin and Shaneen. They teamed up for the first time in the world championships and brought home a bronze with Russia finishing first and Vietnam second.”

Brian Sabido and Matias did not compete this year, leaving Jean Pierre Sabido as the only holdover from the men’s first team champion. Sabido teamed with new partners Gabriel and Galilee Tinaya to finish eighth.

Gabriel is a student of applied physics while Sia is a UST sophomore taking up physical therapy. Sia competed at the world championships last year and finished seventh of 38 in the women’s individual juniors class.

The Philippines’ first medal in the world championships came in 2008 when the Sabido brothers and Matias took the bronze in the men’s first team event in Ankara, Turkey.

This year’s delegation officials were Mella, international referee Stephen Fernandez and coach Jeong Tae Seong. The competitors were Sia, Ortega, 25, Lagman, 24, Alarilla, 24, Sabido, 28, Tinaya, 25, Gabriel, Joel Lacsamana, 53, Edrick Galing, 45, Roel Borjal, 32 and Dustin Mella (reserve), 17. The Philippines had entries in seven events. Ortega was 10th in the women’s individual seniors, Sia 11th in the women’s individual juniors and Sabido 13th in the men’s individual seniors.

Topping the competitions was Korea with nine gold medals and a silver. Vietnam was second with two golds, four silvers and a bronze. Germany had two golds, two silvers and a bronze. Chinese-Taipei took two golds, a silver and five bronzes.

The tournament set age groups for different events. The first pairs had a range of 14 to 35 and the second pairs, 36 and over. Singapore nun Sister Linda Sim, 56, competed in the women’s individual second masters class. The men’s third individual masters class brought in competitors 61 and over while the men’s first individual masters class, 41 and over.

The event drew the largest participation of athletes since its inception. The US showed up with 24 athletes but none took a medal. Iran had 23 competitors, Russia 21 and Chinese-Taipei. Poomsae was introduced at the Southeast Asian Games in 2009 and will make its Asian Games debut in Inchon in 2014. Poomsae is like kata in karate where an athlete is judged in terms of mastery, accuracy, speed and strength showing fighting form against an imaginary opponent. Poomsae does not involve sparring and isn’t a contact sport.

Mella said the tournament unveiled a new competition uniform or the “dobok” approved for universal use by the federation. Choue said the uniform brings back the “sense of authenticity” of the poomsae discipline.