Jins make golden harvest
The moment I saw and heard the crowd, I knew that was it
The vaunted taekwondo squad lived up to its billing after copping four gold medals in the poomsae events of the 30th Southeast Asian Games Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The trio of Rodolfo Reyes Jr. and brothers Dustin and Raphael Mella highlighted the jins’ golden romp after successfully defending their title in the men’s team event to complete a historic four-peat.
Prior to that win, Reyes and Jocel Lyn Ninobla kicked off the Philippines’ campaign on a high note after topping the men’s and women’s individual poomsae events.
Reyes scored 8.346 points to deliver his promise of winning the golden hardware in the men’s individual event following a bronze-medal performance in the previous biennial meet in Kuala Lumpur.
“The moment I saw and heard the crowd, I knew that was it. With every kick, I knew I had the edge. I’m just very happy that all the sacrifice of being away from my family and hard work paid off. This is for the country,” Reyes said.
The victory was doubly special as he dedicated it to his ailing mother who suffered stroke two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Ninobla posted 8.432 points to outshine her Thai and Vietnamese foes.
The last golden moment for the Pinoy jins came when Jeordan Dominguez romped with the victory in the men’s freestyle individual event, racking up a total score of 7.433 points.
The jins’ silver-medal finishes, meanwhile, came from the women’s team, mixed pair, freestyle mixed team and women’s individual freestyle events.