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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Another Filipino reaches Rio Olympics as Charly Suarez scores second-round TKO over Chinese foe

CHARLY Suarez became the second Filipino to secure a berth in the Rio De Janeiro Olympics after reaching the finals of the Asia/Oceania Qualifying Tournament in Qian’an, China on Thursday.

Suarez defeated home bet Shan Jun via technical knockout in the semifinals of the lightweight division, assuring the Filipino fighter of at least a silver in the competition and a berth in the Olympic Games.

Suarez will face Otgondalai Dorjnyambuu of Mongolia for the gold after he beat Daisuke Narimatsu of Japan, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28.

The 27-year-old Suarez, a silver medalist in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, joined light flyweight Rogen Ladon, who earlier copped a ticket to Rio with a victory over an Indian foe.

Source: Reuben Terrado of Spin.ph

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Colonia set to join fellow lifter Diaz in Rio

photo (c) Spin.ph

Count Filipino lifter Nestor Colonia in the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.

By just showing up in the coming Asian championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, national weightlifting coach Dondon Aldanete said the 22-year-old pride of Zamboanga City would already be eligible for the Olympics.

“He’s already ranked fourth in the world. Part of the requirement for him to officially qualify is to join the team event,” said Aldanete, pointing out that Colonia would only need the points in the team competition of the continental championship to join fellow lifter
Hidilyn Diaz in Rio.

Colonia bagged a bronze medal in the clean and jerk (158kg) in the recent world championship held in Houston, Texas but wound up fourth in the snatch (124) and total (282) in the 56kg men’s category.

Diaz, who scooped three bronze medals in the women’s 53kg of the world championships, has already cemented her third straight Olympics.

The Asian Weightlifting Championship is set April 21-30 where 10 Filipino lifters (six men, four women) will participate in the team event headlined by Diaz and Colonia.

Team delegation head Romy Magat said he would secure the certification from the International Weightlifting Federation that would officially declare Diaz as a qualifier to the Olympics.

Joining Diaz and Colonia in the Asian championships are Ellen Rose Perez, Kristel Mae Macrohon, Maria Dessa Delos Santos, Roel Garcia, Elbert Atilano Jr., Karl Louise Macrohon and Joshua Dinglasan.

Aldanete said Colonia would need to lift a total of 280-300 kg to seize a medal in Rio while Diaz should carry 230kg to earn a podium finish.

Diaz has a personal best of 214 in the total—96 in the snatch and 118 in the clean and jerk.

“The chances are brighter for Nestor to medal based on his previous performances,” said Magat.

Once Colonia qualifies, it will be the first time for the Philippines to have a pair of lifters in the Games since Gregorio Colonia, SamuelAligada and Ramon Solis made it in 1988 Seoul.

Source: June Navarro of Inquirer Sports

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Rogen Ladon qualifies for Rio Olympics after advancing to gold medal match in China

ROGEN Ladon of the Philippines defeated Devendro Singh Laishram of India via unanimous decision in the semifinals of the Asia/Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Qian’an, China on Thursday to claim a berth in the Rio De Janeiro Olympics.

Ladon got the nod of all three judges, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, to advance to the finals of the men’s light flyweight class.

More important, Ladon became the first Filipino boxer to clinch a spot in Rio De Janeiro by virtue of an assured top two finish in the Asia/Oceania qualification tournament.

Source: Reuben Terrado of Spin.ph

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