Tamayo stuns rivals, cops silver

HONG KONG -- Kalindi Tamayo struck a silver, while Rodolfo Abratique and Sally Solis produced a bronze medal each as Petron Team Philippines came up with another spunky performance amid Korean domination Monday in the Asian Taekwondo Championship here.

Tamayo first bested her favored Chinese Taipei opponent (8-6) before disposing of a Nepalese (5-3) en route to the women's bantam finals with Korean Mi Na Jung who took the 19-year-old Filipino out with a 7-2 victory.

It was a surprising performance by Tamayo considering her Chinese Taipei opponent Chen Ya Hsin is a seasoned veteran and that the Filipina hasn't been eating solid food here. Tamayo, a strict vegetarian, subsisted only on biscuits, cookies and cereals, while the rest of the Nationals feasted on rich Chinese food here.

Still, Tamayo fought with rage that belied her sweet, comely looks punctuating her victory over Chen with a crisp 45 kick and a swift turning side to the rib cage. The University of Santo Tomas sophomore, however, could not do anything against Mi's superior speed and size and had to settle for silver.

The best fight of the day belonged to Solis and her Korean semis foe, Kyung Hyen Sin. Solis trailed at 4-5 early in the third and final round, but pounced two quick points to tie the score at 6-6 with just under a minute left.

Even the crowd at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium were rooting for the 23-year-old Solis, who has by then taken the momentum that could have given the win.

But Solis all of a sudden dropped her guards, which Sin gamely exploited, unleashing a punch kick to the face to take the game away.

Abratique also turned in fine performance in the men's bantamweight despite fighting in a heavier division. The 27-year-old veteran edged Chinese Taipei's Sung Yu Chi by superiority to gain semis where he met Korean Asian Games champion Name Wong Kang.