FILE–Jocel Ninobla.
HANGZHOU, China—If luck and the judges’ admiration are on their side, Jocel Lyn Ninobla and King Patrick Perez could become the first Filipinos to stand on the medal podium at the 19th Asian Games in the poomsae event.
Both Southeast Asian Games champions earlier this year, Perez is currently ranked fourth in the men’s individual poomsae, while Ninobla, a former world champion, has a good chance of advancing past the initial round when the competitions begin on Sunday.
However, a major challenge stands in their way as taekwondo organizers have merged the two poomsae disciplines—recognized and freestyle—into a single event.
“We will be competing in both recognized and freestyle. It’s a big challenge since I’ve primarily focused on recognized poomsae,” said Ninobla, who has won the gold medal three times in the women’s recognized event at the SEA Games.
“We have trained and participated in several competitions overseas, so it will benefit us in the Asian Games. We will give our best,” added Ninobla, who also earned a silver and bronze at the world stage in 2013.
Ninobla and Perez are part of the 12-member taekwondo team aiming to replicate the success of the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, where they won two silver and three bronze medals.
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Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
