MANILA, Philippines — Kurt Barbosa may have ended his Tokyo Olympics journey on Saturday, but for the 22-year-old jin, this is just the beginning.
Posting on Instagram shortly after his exit, Barbosa thanked fans and supports for helping him reach the Olympic arena and promised a return.
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TRACKER: Kurt Barbosa at the Tokyo Olympics
"This may not be our time but I promise that I won't stop fighting and trying because I believe that losing is part of the game and it is where we learn and get the courage to fight again. We are just getting started, I will surely apply all of my experiences on my next games and I hope you are all still with me until we get that victory." wrote Barbosa.
"We don't lose hope, if we believe that we can achieve something, then we will and my next goal is to work hard for my next fight, gain more experience because we still have much to learn. The show must go on, our time will come."
TRACKER: Team Philippines at the Tokyo Olympics
Barbosa lost his opening match at the Taekwondo Men's -58kg against World Champion Jun Jang from South Korea Saturday morning.
Despite this, there was still a chance for Barbosa to have a podium finish with the repechage, the competition for bronze for those who lost to the two eventual finalists.
But Jang suffered an upset against 12th seed Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi from Tunisia in the semifinals later that day, thus ending the hopes for the Filipino.
Jenboudi eventually took home silver while Jang settled for bronze.
Though far from his ideal outing at the Olympics, Barbosa says it was an honor to don the Philippine flag, and he promises to be back soon.
"At sa mahal kong Pilipinas, ikinararangal kong dalhin ang pangalan mo sa isang malaking patimpalak, hanggang sa muli. Hindi ako susuko. Salamat mga kababayan, babawi tayo, tiwala lang," he said.