20 May World Championship experience in Manchester valuable to Pinoy jins’ SEAG bid
The Philippines fielded a team in the 2019 World Taekwondo Championships set May 15-19 in Manchester, United Kingdom as part of its preparation for the 30th Southeast Asian Games, which will be hosted by the country in December.
Pauline Lopez, a SEAG gold medal winner and Asian Games bronze medallist, spearheaded the country’s charge and competed in the women’s 57-kilogram division.
Samuel Morrison, who struck gold in the 2017 SEAG edition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the lightweight class (-74kg), was also part of the squad.
Other members of the PHL delegation to Manchester were Kurt Brian Barbosa (-54kg), Dex Ian Chavez (-58kg), Keno Anthony Mendoza (-63kg), Arven Alcantara (-68kg), Dave Cea (-74kg), Veronica Garces (-46kg), Baby Jessica Canabal (-49kg) and Rheza Aragon (-53kg).
Igor Mella headed the PHL delegation that also included national coaches Carlos Padilla and Christian Al dela Cruz and trainer Kim Hyoung.
While the Filipinos did not medal, the valuable experience they learned in the Worlds will be instrumental in the country’s bid of improving its 2-3-4 (gold-silver-bronze) medal haul in Kuala Lumpur where it eventually wound up fourth overall.
Taekwondo event in the 3th SEA Games will be staged at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.