Olympic qualifier postponement good for jins—Hong

FILIPINO JINS. Marlon Avenido, (men’s – 80 kg) being coached by national team mentor Kim Hong-sik, at the 2010 Asian championship, where he bagged a bronze medal.

MANILA, Philippines—The postponement of the Olympics taekwondo qualifying event for Asia is good for the national jins hoping to land spots in the London Games next year.

Philippine Taekwondo Association executive vice president Sung Chon Hong Saturday said the qualifier set in Bangkok – shelved indefinitely due to flooding in the Thai capital – will give the team enough time to make some changes with the lineup.

He didn’t say who will be sent to the Olympic qualifier but said he will tweak the roster of players for the event.

The Philippines sent John Paul Lizardo (-58kg), Marlon Avenido (-80kg), Jade Zafra (-57kg) and Jyra Marie Lizardo (-49kg) in the World qualifier held in Baku, Azerbaijan, last July. Nobody among them got through.

Hong added that some players came back from training in Korea two weeks ago and needed some time to heal their minor injuries.

“That (postponement) is good for us, we have more time to prepare,’’ Hong told the Inquirer. “And had the Asian qualifier pushed through as scheduled it would be too close to the Southeast Asian Games.’’

For the Southeast Asian Games, which kicks off in Indonesia Nov. 11, the country will be fielding a complete team.

“I don’t want to make any prediction but we will do our best,’’ said Hong who is counting on his squad led by the Lizardo siblings.

One of the bright spots for the PH campaign in 15-year-old Pauline Lopez, a Fil-American who is set to replace two-time Olympian Toni Rivero in the lineup.

Rivero, whose injury forced her to retirement after the Asian Games last year, attempted to make a comeback for the SEAG but was sidelined by another injury.