Alora, Lopez headline gold-mine taekwondo squad

Photo by Marc Reyes/INQUIRER

Perennial gold producer taekwondo is up to the task at hand when the Southeast Asian Games opens on Aug. 19 in Kuala Lumpur.

Head coach and team official Igor Mella made a modest projection for the national team which will compete in both poomsae and kyorugi competitions.

“We are very prepared. And we will do our best to equal or surpass our previous performance,” said Mella of his wards, who won three golds in the 2015 edition in Singapore.

Olympian Kirstie Elaine Alora, Team Philippines’ flag bearer, is a favorite in the 73 kg division while Pauline Louise Lopez is tipped to rule the 62 kg class.

“We don’t want to make any predictions and get pressured by it, but we haven’t stopped training and preparing for the SEA Games,” added Mella, whose two sons will also see action in the biennial meet.

Dustin Jacob Mella and Raphael Enrico Mella form part of the back-to-back champion poomsae trio with Rodolfo Reyes Jr.