PH taekwondo team under construction for Asian Games

MANILA, Philippines – Nine slots are still up for grabs on the 12-member Philippine national taekwondo team to the 2014 Asian Games as three slots were already reserved for the three jins that won gold medals in last year’s Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar.

The Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA) will be sending six male and six female jins to the 17th edition of the Asiad set from September 19 to October 4 in Incheon, South Korea.

Three of the 12 slots on the team are reserved for Kristie Elaine Alora, Jade Zafra and Kristopher Robert Uy won gold in their respective weight divisions in last year’s 27th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar

The PTA had evaluated the performances of the 20 aspirants, 10 male and 10 female, from the national training pool using the Carlos J. Palanca Cup and the results of other national tournaments it organized to select the remaining nine slots.

The PTA had already submitted the names of the 20 jins to the PTA board, which is expected to release the names in the next two weeks.

The 12-member Philippine national taekwondo team will go through extensive training overseas and will see action in various international tournaments.

Alora copped the women’s welterweight (+73 kilograms) golf, Zafra ruled the featherweight division (57kg) and Uy topped the men’s welterweight (80kg) class.

PTA national training director Noel Veneracion said the three jins easily passed the criteria set by the joint Philippine Olympic Committee-Philippine Sports Commission Asian Games Task Force in all subjective sports where an individual or team needs to crack the top five in any regional tournament. 

“Undoubtedly, [Alora, Zafra and Uy] are the best fighters under the national training pool,” said Veneracion. “Their gold medal victories against a tough field in the [2013] SEA Games attest to that,” added national coach Dindo Simpao. – Rappler.com