INCHEON, South Korea—Four Filipinos hog the spotlight on Tuesday as they kick off the country’s medal campaign in the taekwondo competitions of the 17th Asian Games.
Samuel Thomas Morrison squares off with Macau’s Wong Soi Chun in a men’s -74 kilograms round-of-32 clash in the fourth match of taekwondo’s opening-day sessions at the Ganghwa Dolmens Gymnasium. The preliminary sessions start at 9:30 a.m.
Next on the mat from the Philippine side is women’s -49 kg bet Levita Ronna Ilao, who takes on Vietnam’s Thi Huong Giang Doan in a round-of-16 duel, followed by Nicole Abigail Cham, who battles Thailand’s Sarita Phongsri also in a round-of-16 duel in the women’s -53kg division.
Robert Kristopher Uy battles another Macau bet, Chao Hao, in the day’s last match in men’s -87kg.
The Philippines fielded 12 jins in taekwondo, which is pinned upon to deliver a medal—much more a gold—besides BMX cycling, boxing and karatedo. Wushu is the other potential source of gold medals, but Filipino bets in the sport settled for two silver and one bronze.
The other jins seeing action in the Games are Benjamin Keith Sembrano (-68kg), John Paul Lizardo (-54kg), Francis Aaron Agojo (-58kg) and Christian Al de la Cruz (-80kg) in the men’s and Pauline Louise Lopez (-57kg), Jane Rafaelle Narra (-67kg), Kirstie Elaine Alora (-73kg) and Mary Anjelay Pelaez (-46kg) in the women’s.
The Philippine delegation, meanwhile, was alarmed on Tuesday when Sembrano had to rush to the Jan Chok Medical Hospital after complaining of severe chest pains. He checked in at the Philippine medical team’s clinic after breakfast, complaining of difficulty in breathing.
He was initially attended to by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) nurse Ellen Constantino, who alerted team doctor Ferdinand Brawner about the first medical issue met by the medical team.
Brawner rushed from the sailing venue to check on Sembrano at a polyclinic, where the athlete was first brought for emergency checkup before he was sent to the Jan Chok Medical Hospital for further tests.
The medical team first suspected a possible chest fracture caused by the jins’ intense training before they set off to compete starting today.
But Brawner allayed fears Sembrano’s case was serious after further tests revealed normal levels in the athletes’ electrocardiography (ECG), blood and carbon-dioxide levels.
Sembrano’s blood calcium level, however, was slightly on the high side but not abnormal, said Brawner. He was released from the hospital later in the day and was declared fit for competition.