PH jins bag 2 Asian t’kwondo medals

Two consistent international medalists made waves for the Philippines-Smart taekwondo team again by bagging a medal each in the recent 21st Asian Taekwondo Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Christian Al Dela Cruz repeated his sparkling performance in the 27th Southeast Asian Games in Burma (Myanmar) last year, to bag a silver medal, while Mary Anjelay Pelaez, gold medalist in the 11th Asean Taekwondo Federation and Asian University championships, won a bronze in the tough Uzbekistan competition.

Both Dela Cruz and Pelaez earned their international medals last year. Dela Cruz also bagged a gold in the Asean event and a silver in the Asian University championships while Pelaez took home a bronze from the 27th SEA Games.

The whole PH-Smart squad actually put up a splendid showing against their rivals from 31 other countries like South Korea, Iran, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Thailand, Jordan, Indonesia, Qatar, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia and China.

It was a good exposure and experience for the Filipinos who will compete anew in the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, this year.

Sponsors Smart, MVP Sports Foundation, PLDT, Meralco, TV5 and the Philippine Sports Commission commended Team PH for their performance.