A SIX-MEMBER national team returned home Tuesday from the World Taekwondo Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico, without a medal but with more than enough experience needed for future international competitions.
Three of them—Tokyo Olympian Kurt Barbosa, Southeast Asian Games multi-medalist Dave Cea and newbie Joseph Chua—missed the podium by a victory when they reached the quarterfinals of their respective weight classes
“That’s already an achievement [quarterfinals],” team manager Raul “Rocky” Samson said. “Considering the presence of the world’s best and more experienced jins, it was a tough tournament.”
“Despite the disadvantage in height, experience and exposure in top-tier competitions, our athletes showed what they have against seasoned opponents in terms of skills, talent and understanding under pressure,” Samson added.
Samson stressed that Chua, 24, showed how talented and strong Filipino fighters as the gutsy National University standout, a rookie in international competitions, toppled some of the favorites in her event.
He surprised Finland’s Niko Saarinem, 2-1, in the men’s -63 kgs, where he also defeated American Mik Roman (2-0) and Italian D. Bareta (2-1). He missed the podium with a 0-2 loss to Cala Jorquera of Spain.
The other member of the Smart/MVP Sports Foundation team are Leila Delo, Baby Jessica Canabal and another first-time internationalist Alfritz Arevalo. They were coached by Caloy Padilla and Paul Romero.