Filipino Kurt Barbosa qualifies for Olympic taekwondo

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has its ninth Olympian for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Summer Games.

This after Filipino jin Kurt Barbosa clinched a berth in the Olympics when he took a come-from-behind win over home bet Zaid Al-Halawani, 50-49, in the -58kg semifinals of the Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Saturday.

Barbosa made good on a buzzer-beating kick to come away with the win in the thriller to become the first Filipino male taekwondo jin Olympian since Tshomlee Go in 2008.

The 21-year-old's Olympic hopes looked in peril when Al-Halawani held a 48-43 lead with only 24 ticks left on the clock.

But the Jordanian was slapped with a penalty to keep Barbosa's hopes alive.

This was when the jin out of National University connected on three consecutive kicks to the body to complete the comeback.

Barbosa's teammate Kirstie Elaine Alora fell short of one win for an Olympic berth when she lost to Svetlana Osipova of Uzbekistan, 5-27.