Marcial, Catalan clinch gold in taekwondo meet

Rachel Marcial, a 20-year-old Fil-American sophomore at the US College Air Force in California, and national pool member Sugar Catalan crushed their respective rivals to emerge as the first two senior women’s gold medalists in the Samsung Best of the Best national taekwondo championships yesterday at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City.

Marcial, gold medalist in the recent US Military Games, walloped FEU’s Beverly Jill Malaay, 7-0, in the finweight finals while Catalan toppled WNCAA gold medalist Azalea Nucup, 4-1, in the flyweight division of the tourney organized by IMG and Philippine Taekwondo Association, sponsored by Samsung and supported by Accel and 103.5 K-Lite.

Marcial, who flies to Manila every year to compete in the nationals, is slated to see action again in the World Military Games set in the US this October.

Meanwhile, four national pool members – flyweight Anthony Ong and Gerald Gregorio, bantam Arnold Valenzuela and middle/heavy Dax Morfe -- and former Asian Games bronze medalist Jon Jon Abratique advanced to the men’s senior semifinals in their respective classweights.

Ong whipped ex-national Ronald Samijon, 4-2, while Gregorio rapped Mark Aclao, 7-2, to set up semi matches against Manny Bula and Vincent Adefuin, respectively.

Valenzuela, a UST student and gold medalist in the UAAP last year, beat Baguio’s Danrey Velo, 4-1, to earn a shot at Abratique, who won by superiority over Laguna’s Reymar Aringo after they had battled to a 4-4 tie. Morfe, 25-year-old SEA Games bronze medalist last year, nipped former national team member Christopher Clemente, 3-2.