Pauline Lopez wins Philippines' lone gold in Asian Taekwondo Championships

PAULINE Lopez claimed the country’s first and only gold medal in the 22nd Asian Taekwondo Championship after beating South Korea’s Lee Ah-Reum, 8-6, on Wednesday at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City.

Left in tears after coming one win short of a berth in the Rio De Janeiro Olympics days earlier, Lopez was on the winning end this time around as she beat the defending champion of the women’s -57kg division at the close of the Asian championship.

“This is surreal,” said Lopez, who was cheered on by her relatives led by grandfather Adriano Dela Cruz. “I always trusted in God’s plan for me. This victory is sweet.”

The 19-year-old Los Angeles-based jin said she got a lot of encouragement from his father Efren, a former national athlete, following the defeat in the Olympic qualifiers.

“He called me to encourage me and said forget about what happened,” said Lopez who beat Jeddi Mahsla of Iran, 7-5, in the semifinals, and downed Sae-Lao Thanapa of Thailand, 6-3, in the quarterfinal round.

Aside from Lopez’s gold, the Philippines also got a silver from Kristopher Uy, and a bronze from Olympic-bound Kirstie Elaine Alora.

Source: Reuben Terrado of Spin.ph

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Another Filipina qualifies for Rio Olympics as Ian Lariba books ticket through Asian table tennis qualifying in HK

IAN Lariba defied tough odds to become the first ever Filipino table tennis player to qualify for the Olympics.

Lariba, a varsity player for La Salle in the UAAP, beat Indonesia’s Lilis Indriani, 11-6, 11-2, 11-8, 11-5, in the women’s singles on Saturday night in the 2016 ITTF-Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament in Hong Kong to secure the 11th and final Olympic seat in her event.

Lariba thus became the fifth Filipino athlete to earn a ticket to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, joining Eric Cray of athletics, Rogen Ladon and Charly Suarez of boxing, and Kirstie Elaine Alora of taekwondo, who also earned an Olympic berth on Saturday.

Lariba had a tough road to Rio as she lost to Orawan Paranang of Thailand, 11-6, 11-2, 11-4, 13-11, in Stage One Southeast Asia bracket, relegating her to Draw D in Stage Two of the competition.

The La Salle netter made waves in the classification phase as she beat Maha Faramarzi of Qatar, 11-5, 11-1, 11-7, 11-4, and Mahjobeh Omran of Iran, 11-6, 15-13, 11-8, 7-11, 10-12, 11-8, before losing to Nanthana Komwong of Thailand in the Draw D final for the Olympic berth.

In the do-or-die match for the 11th and final Olympic slot, Lariba cruised past the Indonesian, sweeping the best-of-seven match to formally claim the ticket to Rio.

Lariba was MVP in UAAP Season 78, leading La Salle to the league crown. She also saw action in the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore last year.

Source: Reuben Terrado of Spin.ph

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Kirstie Alora qualifies for Rio 2016 after advancing to finals of Asia Olympic taekwondo qualifying tilt

KIRSTIE Elaine Alora claimed a berth in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics with a semifinal victory over top-seed Akram Khodabandeh of Iran on Saturday in the Asia Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Marriott Grand Ballroom.

Alora trounced a much-taller Khodabandeh, 10-3, in the women’s +67kg division bout to reach the finals, securing a spot in the Olympics this year with the top two finishers in each weight category earning a seat in Rio.

Alora becomes the fourth Filipino to officially qualify for Rio along with Eric Cray of athletics, and Rogen Ladon and Charly Suarez of boxing.

Alora is the first Filipino jin to make it to the Olympics since Tshomlee Go and Marie Antoniette Rivero did it in Beijing in 2008.

The Filipina jin came through in the second round, taking a commanding 6-1 lead.

Alora beat Nepal’s Nisha Rawal, 9-0, earlier in the day to earn a semifinal match with Khodabandeh in the weight division that only drew five competitors.

Source: Reuben Terrado of Spin.ph

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