2016 Rio Olympics veteran Kirstie Alora settled for third place in the women’s +67kg. division after a 9-7 victory over Tajikistan’s Mokhru Khalimova in the bronze medal match. Alora could have been off to her second straight Olympic stint if she had won her semifinal match against Uzbekistan’s Svetlana Osipova, where she lost in a score of 5-27.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 22) – Filipino taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa rallied from behind against hometown bet Zaid Alhalawani to clinch the Tokyo Olympics berth on Saturday in the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament at Amman, Jordan.
With his victory, Barbosa is the lone Filipino taekwondo bet who will play in Tokyo. He is also the ninth Filipino athlete to qualify for the international sporting meet.
Only the top two taekwondo jins per division will get the tickets to the Tokyo Games, which means an athlete must win in the semifinals.
It was a tough but sweet win in the men’s -58kg. division semifinals for Barbosa, who had trailed in the match by as much as 15 points.
In the final 12 seconds of the game, Alhalawani looks to book the Olympic slot as he held a 49-44 lead. But Barbosa scored three straight valid kicks against Alhalawani to steal the Olympic berth in favor of the National University standout.
Before facing Alhalawani, Barbosa edged Mongolia’s Tumenbayar Molom, 40-33, in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the two Filipina taekwondo jins failed to secure spots in the Tokyo Games.
Pauline Lopez was off to a good start after beating Syria’s Aya Aljrayhe, 22-0, in the round-of-16. However, she fell short against Lebanon’s Laetitia Aoun, 10-21, in the quarterfinals.
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Aside from Barbosa, the other Filipino athletes who have officially qualified for the Tokyo Olympics are 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, gymnast Carlos Yulo, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, rower Cris Nievarez, and boxers Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, Eumir Marcial, and Irish Magno.
The Tokyo Olympic Games are slated from July 23 to August 8.
