Taekwondo-jin Go unfazed by great Olympic odds
By Marc Anthony Reyes
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:19:00 04/17/2008
Filed Under: Taekwon-Do, Summer Olympics
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Sports Commission recently tried out a way to chart the “way to the first Olympic gold.”
The method, according to PSC chair Butch Ramirez, is to find out who are the RP bets’ possible contenders for a gold medal in Beijing.
And judging by the chart path thus far, Tshomlee Go is facing a diverse and tough field. The 27-year-old taekwondo-jin made it to the Beijing Games via the World qualifying after beating six opponents in the -58kg, the first Olympic weight category.
Go, known for his bullet kicks, defeated world championship bronze medalist Tamer Bayoumi of Egypt in a sudden death after they both finished the three rounds with one point apiece.
Based on the study, the RP coaching staff admitted that it would be hard to determine who are the possible gold medal contenders in August because just about every country stepped up in terms of skills unlike some five years ago when the sports was dominated by South Korea.
Coach Rocky Samson said the Olympic odds will depend on many factors, including the luck of the draw, which could pose danger if Go is pitted against the big guns early in the tournament.
Samson noted that in the World qualifying in Manchester, Go took on regional champions, including reigning Olympic winner Mu Yen-chu of Chinese Taipei, who beat him, 7-0, in the semifinals.
The Taiwanese took the gold at the expense of two-time world titlist Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain. The two will be the top favorites in August, according to the RP coaching staff.
Still, Go is unfazed.
“I won’t be busy thinking about who I will face, but instead I will try to fight and give all I can just like what I did in Manchester,” said Go.
Go was introduced to taekwondo by his father Tomas, former national player and Batch 8 of the Taekwondo Blackbelt Brotherhood. His brother Jefferthom is also a former RP team member.
Men’s team coach and seven-time SEAG champion Roberto “Kitoy” Cruz noted that Go has the requisite mental toughness to survive the Olympics and likened him to a horse for punishing himself in training.
“I love the sport. And because of this I was able to endure the grueling training session that we had to go through,” said Go in a separate interview.
The University of Santo Tomas graduate, who is hoping to join the US Air Force one day, is currently training in Korea.
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