TAEKWONDO CROWN NAIDEPENSA NI NINOBLA SA PSC WOMEN’S MARTIAL ARTS FEST

IPINAMALAS ni Jocelyn Ninobla ang kanyang galing sa local turf sa pagkopo ng dalawang gold medals sa taekwondo sa pagtatapos ng 8th Philippine Sports Commission-Women’s Martial Arts Festival sa Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Kasalukuyang No. 2 sa world rankings, si Ninobla ay umiskor ng 8.37 points upang kunin ang gold medal sa individual poomsae bago pinangunahan ang national squad sa kanyang ikalawang panalo sa women’s freestyle team event.

Nakipagsanib-puwersa ang 26-year-old na si Ninobla, back-to-back Southeast Asian Games champion, kina Jona Keith Castillo at Janna Dominique Oliva sa team poomsae gold makaraang magtala ng kabuuang 7.16 points.

Pinangunahan ni PSC Commissioner Olivia “Bong’’ Coo ang closing ceremonies matapos ang anim na araw na aksiyon na tinampukan ng 11 combat sports sa event na inorganisa ng PSC at sinuportahan ng Pocari Sweat at Go21.

“It was very successful. We had 628 athletes who participated, and we were able to show that a lot of women are into martial arts. This was also an opportunity to encourage more women to participate in these sports and learn to defend themselves,’’ sabi ni Coo.

Ang Women’s Martial Arts Festival ay nagsilbing initial tuneup para sa mga miyembro ng national teams sa pencak silat, karatedo, sambo, kickboxing, taekwondo, wrestling, muaythai, jiujitsu at kurash para sa kanilang paghahanda sa 6th Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games sa Bangkok, Thailand sa susunod na taon.

Sa kyorugi event sa taekwondo, ginapi ni finweight Rajany Darlyn Santos ng National University si Samantha Siboc ng San Beda University habang dinomina ni Abegail Valdez ng University of Santo Tomas ang flyweight division makaraang pataubin si fellow national team member Veronica Garces.

Ang iba pang mga nagwagi sa event ay sina Raven Allyson Pablo (bantamweight), Realis Tabiando (featherweight), Jubilee Briones (lightweight) at Aila Mathel Calip (welterweight).