By Erma Edera
Lightning struck not once but thrice for the Philippines as poomsae delivered three gold medals at the start of taekwondo events Saturday in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Jocel Lyn Ninubla, left, and Rodolfo Reyes perform during the recognized poomsae individual to bag gold medals in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, December 7, 2019 (MB Photo / Rio Leonelle Deluvio / Canon 1DX Mark II with 400mm f2.8 lens)
Rodolfo Reyes Jr., the sixth jin to perform in the event scored 8.439 points in the men’s individual that catapulted him to first place in the seven-man tournament.
He was followed by Thailand Sengmueang Pattarapong with 8.199 points while Shine Sun of Myanmar and Malaysia’s Anak Grocer August shared the bronze with a total score 7.849 points each.
Reyes, who won a bronze medal in the 2017 SEAG in Kuala Lumpur, had an average score of 3.01 for accuracy, 4.77 for presentation with a total score of 7.84.
He was also part of the trio that nabbed the gold medal in the men’s team poomsae event in the 2015 SEA Games.
Jocel Lyn Ninobla later captured the second gold after she ruled the women’s individual poomsae with a total score of 8.433.
It was a close match for women’s event as Ninobla bested Ornawee Srishakit of Thailand by a .001 point difference to win the gold. Vietnam’s Le Tran Kim Uyen placed third with 8.149 points.
The four-time SEA Games defending team champions composed of Reyes, Dustin Jacob Mella and Raphael Enrico Mella snared the third gold after delivering a flawless performance in the men’s team poomsae event.
The trio registered a total of 8.483 points.
In the mixed pair recognized poomsae taekwondo event, the country’s representatives settled for silver after Rinna Babanto and Dustin Jacob Mella fell short of winning the gold medal after they got a total score of 8.233, just .050 points away from Malaysia, which scored 8.283 points.
The Thailand team rounded out the podium with their bronze medal performance garnering a score of 8.099.
The country’s women’s taekwondo poomsae team grabbed the second silver for PH after garnering a total of 7.999 points, lagging behind the Thailand team with 8.399 points. The Vietnam team copped the bronze with 7.866 points.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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