Taekwondo jins assured of bronze

GUANGZHOU – The luck of the draw advanced Olympian Tshomle Go and newcomer Samuel Morrison to the semifinals, assuring the Philippine taekwondo team of at least two bronze medals before the opening of competitions today at the Guangdong Gymnasium.

Go, the top bet of the young takewondo team, will not compete until the last day of taekwondo competitions on Nov. 20, while Morrison will have the luck of earning a bronze medal in his first Asian Games appearance as he draws a bye into this afternoon’s semifinal round.

Fil-American teenager Pauline Lopez opens the team’s campaign at 9:48 a.m. against Dhaka silver medalist Laila Hussain of war-torn Afghanistan in the quarterfinal of the under 46 kg class.

Hussain, one of the 12 veiled women from the predominantly Muslim country, will shed off her headdress for the jin’s uniform, also aiming to move into the final round this afternoon.

Morrison, 20, also makes his first appearance right in the Under 70 kg semifinals where a win assures him of at least a silver.

At 10:52 a.m., Jyra Marie Lizardo, bronze medalist in the Laos Southeast Asian Games, goes up against 2007 SEAG gold medal winner Elaine Shueh Fhern Teo of Malaysia in the under 49 kg class quarterfinal.