Taekwondo jins raring to deliver

MANILA, Philippines — The Pinoy jins finally get unveiled, upbeat and confident of their respective forms but wary of what lies ahead in the next three days as taekwondo competitions in the 30th SEA Games kick off today at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Court I.

A total of 21 gold medals are up for grabs in the top Korean martial arts where the Filipinos have been a consistent medal producer on the international stage although the Thais and the Vietnamese have made quite an inroad the last few years and are tipped to figure in the medal race.

“We are confident of our chances for the targeted gold medals based on the team’s overall preparation,” said PTA’s Raul Samson. “The medals can come from any of the players and events in both kyorugi and poomsae.”

Poomsae competitions usher in the first of the three-day event with eight gold medals to be disputed, including the men’s and women’s individual and team categories and mixed team event.

The hosts are eyeing not only to double their two-gold, three-silver, four-bronze haul in the last SEAG in Kuala Lumpur but match or surpass their 6-5-1 (gold-silver-bronze) feat in helping power the country to the overall championship when the Phl last hosted the biennial meet in 2005.

But they stumbled in the next SEAG in Thailand, finishing with a forgettable 1-4-6 take in 2007.