Jins golds Donald’s gift to son, Dax’s sweet revenge

HO CHI MINH (Via Globe Telecom)–Donald Geisler and Dax Morfe have a lot of podium finishes in the past but they treasured most the golds won here Thursday.

Geisler fashioned out his gold-medal feat on the very fourth birthday of his son Robbie. It also earned him another shot at Athens Olympics, tapped by the national federation to compete in the regional qualifier in Thailand this coming February.

The half-German, half-Filipino from Angeles City had vied for a slot in the 2004 Olympics in the recent qualifier in Paris but failed in his bid.

Morfe, on the other hand, exacted sweet revenge versus a Vietnamese rival who left him with a shattered dream and a shattered shin in Kuala Lumpur in 2001.

The 26-year-old La Salle alumnus dealt hometown bet Phan Tan Dat a defeat that would rankle for long, coming back in the match to steal the win in the end.

"This is really a sweet win for me coming on the very birthday of my son Robbie. Incidentally, this is also a special occasion for Kitoy (Cruz) who is celebrating his wedding anniversary (with wife Carmela)," said Geisler.

"Bago umalis sa Pilipinas, nasa isip ko na ang gumanti doon sa Vietnamese. Binali noon ang shin ko sa Kuala Lumpur," said Morfe pointing to his right shin which still has a metal plate in it.

"Apat na buwan akong pinagpahinga niyang Vietnamese na iyan," added Morfe.

For a while, it looked Morfe would suffer another defeat at the hands of Dat as he trailed 5-4 in the third and final round.

But Morfe forced Dat to commit two crucial infractions (kyong-go) in the closing seconds to steal the win for Team Philippines‚ fourth gold in the event.

With two earlier infractions, the Vietnamese got a two-point deduction and suffered a 3-4 defeat.

"Hindi niya yata alam ang score at kung ilang warning na ang nakuha niya, kaya ayon ang sama nang loob nya," said Morfe of the Vietnamese who threw tantrums after the announcement of the winner.

Morfe has been a sportsman ever since, playing football during his grade school years and volleyball in high school both at La Salle Greenhills.

"Ang father ko ang nag-encourage sa akin na pumasok sa martial arts. Ang mother ko matagal na akong pinapahinto dahil siya ang natatakot para sa akin," said Morfe, eldest of five kids of a businessman from Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija.