RP strikes gold in poomsae

MANILA, Philippines - Displaying remarkable precision and synchronization, the Philippine men’s squad of Anthony Rey Matias, Jean Pierre Sabido and Brian Alan Sabido captured the gold medal in the first team male category of the fifth World Poomsae Championships at the Universal Sports Palace in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, last Sunday.

Head coach Igor Mella described it as an inspiring showing by the Filipinos who improved on their sixth place finish in Cairo last year.

“The first team male category is the most challenging and difficult in the entire competition,” said Mella. “There were 27 teams in the event where the age range is 14 to 35 years old and every participant was highly-skilled. Our men’s team took the bronze in Ankara, Turkey, in 2008, then slipped to sixth but came back to win it all. Officials from other countries congratulated us for the upgrade in our performance level.”

Germany came in second while Iran and China bagged a bronze apiece in the event.

The defending champion Philippine women’s team of Janice Lagman, Rani Ann Ortega and Camille Alarilla wasn’t as lucky. The favored trio narrowly missed bringing home a bronze by .01 of a point, settling for fifth place among 22 entries.

Lagman, Ortega and Alarilla became overnight celebrities with their good looks after winning the world title last year. The charming jins keep a hectic schedule in and out of the gym as Lagman, 23, is a registered nurse, Alarilla, 23, is taking up law studies and Ortega, 24, is a teacher with a UP sports science degree.

“It was a close fight,” said Mella of the women’s competition. “First place went to Vietnam which was second to us last year. We lost because of breaks of the game. But overall, our team of three boys and four girls performed creditably and did our country proud.”

Mella pointed out that in seven events, the Philippines made it to five finals. The men’s team took first and the women’s team finished fifth. The pair of Ortega and Brian Sabido wound up fifth of 36. Shaneen Sia, 17, was seventh of 38 in the junior female division while Jean Pierre Sabido, 25, placed eighth of 44 in the senior male class. Failing to reach the finals were Matias who landed 13th of 30 in the junior male category and Ortega who ended up ninth of 32 in the senior female event.

The competitions drew 446 athletes from 59 countries. As expected, Korea won the overall championship with nine gold and two silver medals. Vietnam came in second with two gold medals, a silver and a bronze.

Poomsae, a taekwondo discipline where competitors are judged on form against an imaginary opponent, was introduced in the Laos Southeast Asian Games last year and the Philippines ran away with gold medals in the ladies team and the pairs events. It will be included in the Asian Games calendar starting in Inchon in 2014.

Accompanying the team to Tashkent were Philippine Taekwondo Association vice president and Grandmaster Hong Sung Chon, Korean coach Jeong Tae-seong, international referee Stephen Fernandez and Mella.

The Philippines is clearly a world power in poomsae which puts a premium on mastery, accuracy, speed and strength. At the Korean Open last August, Lagman took the women’s individual title and Ortega and Jean Pierre Sabido combined for the gold medal in pairs.

At the moment, the national poomsae pool consists of eight men and eight women. Mella said jins who are not in the pool may try out for slots in the team competing at the Asean University Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, this December. The age range is 18 to 28 for the competitions.

Mella said the team left Manila for Tashkent via Inchon last Oct. 4. The trip took 20 hours, including an eight-hour layover in Inchon. After the 6:30 p.m. awarding rites last Sunday, the team rushed to the airport to catch the 9 p.m. flight to Manila via Inchon. The world champion men’s team boarded the plane sweating in taekwondo suits with medals dangling around their necks. The team arrived last Monday afternoon.

“Poomsae has several age categories,” explained Mella. “There is a category for 36 and above and even 61 and above in the world championships. But winning the first team male’s title with the age range of 14 to 35 was an achievement because it is the toughest division. Our women won the world title last year and this year, our men did it.”

Mella said without the support of Smart and the Philippine Sports Commission, the team wouldn’t be able to continuously participate in international competitions and reap honors for the country.