Pauline Louise Lopez bows to tall Chinese, nets 4th taekwondo bronze

JAKARTA – Taekwondo’s Pauline Louise Lopez fell to a tall Luo Zongshi of China, 4-11, and settled for another bronze for Team Philippines at Jakarta Convention Center Assembly Hall D.

The 22-year-old Psychology student at Ateneo de Manila University was so frustrated with the setback and cried after the match.

She trailed 0-2 in the first round, sneaked in two points with the Chinese scoring two more for a 2-4 in the second.

The Chinese then pulled away in the third round with seven decisive hits.

Lopez rallied to 4-7 in the third round and landed two more kicks but they did not register on the electronic scoreboard. Her coaching staff vehemently protested and one of the match officials called the attention of two members of the jury, who eventually awarded a point for the Filipina.

But Lopez was later meted three gami-jeom (deduction penalty) in the third round, dousing water on her bid to enter the gold medal round.

“I had the chance but the plan didn’t work according to what it should be. I was going for it, I did my part but it’s just it was not there for me,” Lopez said.

Though she failed to make it to the gold medal match, Lopez’s bronze feat improved her performance in the 2014 Games in Incheon, Korea where she was eliminated right in the first round.

The pretty Ateneo lass looked formidable entering the semifinals after dominant wins over Macau’s Xiao Feng (8-0) in the round-of-16 and Nepal’s Gyani Chunara (20-0) in the quarters.