March 28, 2024

The Samahang Taekwondo ng Pilipinas (STP) displayed dominance in the 1st Buriram International Taekwondo Championship in Thailand on Aug. 27 when Filipino athletes clinched 23 gold, 16 silver and 11 bronze medals in the poomsae and kyorugi events.

VICTORIOUS TKD JINS — Together with their coaches, athletes who represented the Samahang Taekwondo ng Pilipinas present their me-dals following their victorious campaign in the 1st Buriram International Taekwondo Championship in Thailand on Aug. 27 where they clinched 23 gold, 16 silver, and 11 bronze medals in the poomsae and kyorugi events. — Contributed photo

Of the 35 competing countries, STP emerged on top of the overall medal ranking in the poomsae with 17 gold, six silver, and seven bronze medals followed by Team Phongpisut Taekwondo of Thailand with 12-9-9 medals and Heroes Taekwondo of Thailand with 6-2-1 medals.

Gold medalists in the individual poomsae were Kody Wanson, Liam David Tacio, Jamie Levi Requillo, Manilyn Mataag, Janine Mae Labao, Rojan Art Dacquil, Precious Ashley Benetiz, Kathleen Bejosano, Jeanine Ummas, Akirah Hannah Kidayan, Jeriza Dawn Ummas, and Jerilorn Jammy Hernandez. 

Silver medalists were Elcanor Mang-usan Jr., Kristauf Aurelius Bosaing, Viggo Dangiwan, Janice Candido, Sashenka Gem Lubong, and Hexane Rosena while the bronze medalists were Brylle Cafongtan, Jasiel Candido, Josh Daniel Tacio, Josh Karl Bulayo, Jhon Bert Valenzuela, and Reizter John Tutaan.

Gold medalists in the group poomsae were Dacquil and Benetiz; Tutaan and Bejosano; Wanson and Bosaing; Lubong, Benetiz, and Labao; and Valenzuela, Bulayo, and Dacquil.

STP ranked third in the kyorugi ca-tegory with six gold, 10 silver, and four bronze medals followed by FMT Ubon of Thailand with 14-1-5 medals, and The Champion Taekwondo Buriram of Thailand with 10-8-2 medals.

Gold medalists were Dangiwan, Josh Tacio, Cafongtan, Bejosano, Benetiz, and Hernandez, silver medalists were Bosaing, Liam Tacio, Jeanine Ummas, Bulayo, Valenzuela, Dacquil, Dawn Ummas, Mang-usan, Requillo, and Candido, and bronze medalists were Wanson, Kidayan, Labao, and Lubong.

The STP team is composed of 24 taekwondo players from Bravehearts Martial Arts Institute – main, Bravehearts Martial Arts Institute – Arcadian branch, Bravehearts Martial Arts Institute – Buyagan branch, and Nueva Vizcaya Taekwondo Finals. 

The athletes were accompanied by the STP president Danrey Velo and coaches Jeremy Fagayan, Jr.; Jonalyn Ladao; and Pedro Chulipa, Jr.

The international taekwondo championship was organized by the Sports and Tourism Authority of Thailand – Buriram pro-vince in partnership with The Hero Team and GM Group. 

Taekwondo athletes from the Phi-lippines, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Oman, Nepal, Korea, Uzbekistan, Laos, and Bahrain participated in the the event sponsored by the National Sports Development Fund. – Karen Bosaing