PH taekwondo now 3rd in Asia, sets eyes on 2028 LA Olympics
With the Philippines now ranked third in Asia in taekwondo, the national jins are setting their sights on the 2028 LA Olympics.
In a Facebook post on Oct. 4, Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino announced the new goal for the country's national taekwondo athletes.
"We have made our mark in the Asian Games and we will continue to champion the growth and development of our athletes as we boldly march towards the 2028 Olympics," Tolentino wrote.
In response to Tolentino's challenge, Philippine Taekwondo Association secretary general Raul "Rocky" Samson said the association is taking it seriously.
"Kasi ang Olympic level is parang the same as Asian level...For taekwondo, 'yung nagmemedalya sa Olympics is actually nasa mga Asian countries din 'yan eh," Samson said in a video interview shared by the POC on Sunday.
According to Samson, the performance of the country's national jins from Oct. 1 to 3 was an indication that the athletes could qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California, in 2028.
In a historic run, the Philippine taekwondo team brought home five medals at the 20th Asian Games: one gold in the inaugural virtual taekwondo from Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape, a silver in women's individual poomsae from Juliana Mykhail Candelaria, a second silver in women's -49kg kyorugi from Tachiana Keizha Mangin, and a third silver in men's -58kg kyorugi from Kurt Bryan Barbosa, plus a bronze in men's individual poomsae from Yape.
Samson said Team Philippines will be assessing the athletes' mistakes and fixing what else needs to be done as they prepare for the qualifying rounds of the 2028 Olympics. According to him, the national jins will be coming up with new moves, as well, since their opponents will be studying their existing moves.
"Kailangan tuluy-tuloy lang 'yung ensayo, tuluy-tuloy-lang 'yung sakripisyo. At kailangan mag-develop ka ng iba-iba ring style para next time pagkalumabas, may iba kang bala," Samson said.
The national jins will also be competing in as many qualifying tournaments as they can to raise their ranking and become seeded contenders.
"Pero for taekwondo, merong specific qualification games for the LA Olympics. Du'n kailangan tayo magperform. Kailangan mag-gold and silver ka du'n para makalusot ka sa LA. One chance lang 'yun, eh," said Samson.
"So kailangan maganda sana 'yung bunot mo, maganda 'yung ranking mo para seeded ka. Magkatagpu-tagpo kayo sa taas, para du'n na lang kayo magpupukpukan," he added.
According to the World Taekwondo Qualification System, the qualifying matches will be held in December 2027 at the Tai'an 2027 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in Tai'an, China.
Samson named Mangin and Barbosa among the athletes the association is looking at to represent the Philippines at the Olympic qualifying rounds. According to him, there are also several "up-and-coming" young athletes who have been performing well in tournaments.
Although there will be no virtual taekwondo segment at the LA Olympics, Samson said there is now lobbying for it to be included in the next Olympics, which will be in 2032 in Brisbane, Australia.
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