Kirstie Elaine Alora of the Philippines (red) competes against Sorn Seavmey of Cambodia (blue) in the finals of the women’s -73 kg category of the 29th Southeast Asian Games competition Tuesday at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center. Alora lost, 6-13. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/SEA GAMES POOL
KUALA LUMPUR—Kirstie Elaine Alora has one more passion outside of taekwondo: Playing the popular video game Dota or Defense of the Ancient.
An all-time favorite among Filipino youth, the computer game has been added as a demonstration sport in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (Aimag) next month in Turkmenistan.
Alora, if her schedule permits, just might wear two hats for Team Philippines in the Aimag, fighting in the taekwondo mat and at the same time slugging it out on the keyboard.
The 27-year-old-old Alora said playing Dota relaxes her from the grind of taekwondo training.
“I enjoy playing it,” said Alora, who, in 2005 as a 15-year-old SEA Games rookie, rocked the competition after she captured the gold medal.