Philippine Taekwondo Athletes Miss Out on Paris Olympics
Tokyo Olympian Kurt Barbosa and three other Filipino taekwondo athletes failed to secure spots in the Paris Olympics at the World Taekwondo Asian Qualification Tournament in Tai’an, China.
Kurt Barbosa’s Loss
Kurt Barbosa, aiming for a second consecutive Olympic appearance, suffered a 2-0 defeat to Kazakhstan’s Samirkhon Ababakirov in the men’s -58kg semifinals. Despite his efforts, Barbosa struggled to score against the taller Kazakh, ultimately losing by scores of 7-4 and 16-5.
Other Athletes’ Attempts
Joining Barbosa, Tachiana Mangin, Baby Jessica Canabal, and Arven Alcantara also reached the semifinals but fell short in their respective weight categories.
- Baby Jessica Canabal lost to Lebanon’s Laetitia Aoun in the women’s -57kg class.
- Tachiana Mangin was defeated by Saudi Arabia’s Dunya Abutaleb in the women’s -49kg category.
- Arven Alcantara faced a 2-1 defeat against Ali Reza Abbasi of the Refugee Olympic Team in the men’s -68kg quarterfinals.
Barbosa and Canabal managed to secure bronze medals in their matches against Saudi Arabia’s Riad Hamdi and Cambodia’s Julie Mam, respectively.
This marks the first time since the 2012 London Games that the Philippines will not have a representative in Olympic taekwondo.