Olympian Kirstie Alora fails to make quarterfinals

Naveen Ganglani

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Olympian Kirstie Alora fails to make quarterfinals
The first-time Olympian Alora falls to her veteran opponent

MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) – Philippine Olympian Kirstie Elaine Alora lost to Maria Espinoza of Mexico, 4-1, in the Round of 16 of the women’s over-67 division of the taekwondo event at the Rio Olympics on Saturday, August 20, in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

Alora, 26, entered as the 16th seed taking on the top-seeded Espinoza, who won gold in the same competition during the 2008 Olympics and bronze in the 2012 Olympics.

Espinoza scored first on a counter during the first of 3 rounds, but Alora was able to tie the match by dropping her opponent. Unfortunately for the Filipina, that was the only conversion she ended up earning the entire match.

Espinoza, 28, dominated the remainder of the bout, scoring again to make it 2-1 and then converting on a 45-kick for a 3-1 edge.

The Mexican athlete then scored on a turning kick in the third round, going up 4-1 and icing the victory.

Alora still has a chance to win one of the two bronze medals during the repechage of the tourney. In order to qualify for that, Espinoza will have to advance to the gold medal match of the competition.

The repechage consists of two rounds – the preliminaries and bronze medal contests. The preliminary round will consist of the 4 athletes (two matches) defeated by the two finalists during the round of 16 and quarterfinal rounds. The two winners from there will then face the athletes who lost in the semis to the finalists, where each bout will be for a bronze medal.

Espinoza is next scheduled to take on number 9 Wiam Dislam from Morocco. 

After the match, Alora discussed how difficult it was to take on Espinoza.

“I could not anticipate what she was going to do to me. Each time she engages, she breaks out quickly. That made it very difficult for me,” she said. “Nahirapan ako sa stepping niya (I had difficulty with her stepping).”

The two actually went head to head back in 2009, when Alora was also defeated by Espinoza. According to the Filipina Olympian, there were similarities and a big difference in her opponent from then and now.

“There was not much of a different the first time we met in 2009 (Alora lost, 2-1). She threw the same kicks. It was her stepping that changed. That made it difficult for me.

“She was not much into throwing head kicks. I was very careful with that. It was her stepping,” she added. – Rappler.com

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