Jins most decorated Phl athletes in SEAG

PALEMBANG, Indonesia – With the fall of athletics, the big flop in swimming and the impending setback in boxing, taekwondo looms as the most decorated sport, a strong contender for Philippine sportswriters’ award as most outstanding national sports association for the year.

This could be the year taekwondo will earn the accolade, which went to only three sports during the last five years, basing on the performance of taekwondo jins, composed of veteran and young stars, who had the highest production of four golds at the completion of competitions in the 26th Southeast Asian Games.

Leading the honor roll in the sport are John Paul Lizardo in the flyweight (54-58 kg), Kristine Elaine Alora in the heavyweight (over 73 kg), Ma. Camille Manalo in the lightweight (57-62) and the poomsae team of Rani Ann Ortega, Francesca Camille Alarilla and Ma. Carla Janice Lagman.

Winning the silver medals were heavyweight (over 87 kg) Alexander Briones, middleweight (80-87 kg) Jose Antonio Soria and the poomsae pair of Marvin Vidal and Shaneen Ched Sia.

The bronze medal winners were Karla Jane Avala (finweight, 53-57 kg), Samuel Thomas Morrison (featherweight, 63-68 kg), Leigh Ann Nuguid (finweight, 46 kg), Pauline Louie Lopez (featherweight, 46-49 kg) and Vidal in the poomsae individual.

“It was our goal and thank God we were able to deliver. Could have been better but the breaks did not go our way,” Rocky Samson, coach of the squad, said.

The four-gold medal haul came after the retirement of Olympian Tshomlee Go and the withdrawal of Ma. Antonette Rivero, who sustained a knee injury (ACL) in training.

Despite the absence of superstar jins who would provide the leadership in the SEA Games, the taekwondo association has produced very young jins capable of producing results until the Olympics.

The young hopefuls are Alava (20 years old), Morrison (21), Nuguid (17), Lopez (15), Briones (18) and Soria (21).

The old guards are not that old, with Manalo the most senior at 26, followed by Lizardo at 25 and Alora at 22.

Taekwondo’s strength lies in its stability. The Philippine Taekwondo Association has continued with a winning tradition, being a forward-looking organization, only one of a few national sports associations that are free from internal strife.

Its system of training on the club and school level, its series of best-of-the-best championships on top of age group tournaments have produced a wide base of taekwondo jins now over 500,000.