Two Baguio taekwondo jins helped the Philippine mixed poomsae team to the gold in the 6th Asian Taekwondo Championships at the Nouhad Naufal Indoor Sports Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon Monday.
Two time world champion and 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Jeordan Dominguez and teener Justin Kobe Macario helped the five men/woman mixed poomsae squad to the gold and power the Philippine delegates to two golds, three silvers and five bronze medals performance which was good for third over-all.
Dominguez and Macario, a former Baguio City High School student who finished intermediate school at the National University and now a member of the University of Santo Tomas taekwondo team, won top podium with Marvin Mori, Juvenile Crisostomo and Nikki Oliva in the Freestyle Mixed competition for team event.
A total of 12 Filipino jins saw action in the poomsae side with Rodolfo Reyes, Jr. leading the charge for the non-combat side of the Korean martial arts.
Also winning gold for the Philippines is Darius Venerable who topped the men’s individual freestyle.
Jana Dominiqye Oliva, on the other hand, settle for the silver medal in the women’s side of freestyle.
The other silver medalists are Venerable and Juvenile Faye Crisostomo in the mixed pair freestyle.
June Ninonla added another silver in men’s individual recognized poomsae.
Reyes, meanwhile, settled for the bronze medal in men’s individual recognized poomsae, while Ninobla earned the same medal in the distaff side of the same event.
Ninobla, Rinna Babanto and Aidaine Laxa finished with a bronze medal in the women’s team recognized poomsae, while Reyes, Patrick Perez and Joaquin Dominic Tuzon took the male side of the same event.
Perez and Babanto placed third in the mixed pair recognized poomsae.
Team Philippines took three special awards with coach Rani Ann Ortega as top coach, while Venerable and Crisostomo were named most valuable players of the tournament.
The kyorugi or combative side of taekwondo, meanwhile, will start their quest Wednesday.
The Philippine team will feature three of those denied seats in the Tokyo Olympic this July with Pauline Lopez, Arven Alcantara and Kirstie Alora hoping to bounce back with podium finishes in the of the tournament
They will be joined by nine other Kyorugi jins who will see action on June 16 until 18.
Lopez, Alcantara and Alora failed to get a ticket to the summer Olympics where Abra boy Kurt Barbosa qualified.
The men’s team in the combat side are Rommel Pablo, Jr. (-54 kg), Kurt Pajuelas (-58 kg), Joseph Chua (-63 kg), Alcantara (-68 kg), Dave Cea (-74 kg) and Samuel Morrison (-80 kg).
The women’s squad is composed of Veronica Garces (-45 kg), Rheza Aragon (-49 kg), Baby Jessica Canabal (-53 kg), (-57 kg), Laila Delo (-67 kg) and Alora (+73 kg).
Tokyo Paralympics-bound Para Jin Allain Ganapin (75 kg K44) was playing in the Asian Para Taekwondo Championships that started Tuesday, June 15.
