Taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa wins another gold for the Philippines in the 30th Southeast Asian Games. Photo by MArk Giongco
MANILA, Philippines — Comfortably ahead, Kurt Barbosa flashed a big grin when he was shown on the LED screen during a break in between the first and second rounds.
His huge smile quickly turned into a pout as he struggled to hold back his tears after delivering a gold medal in dazzling fashion in the 30th Southeast Asian Games taekwondo competitions Monday.
The 20-year-old Barbosa won the gold medal in his maiden SEA Games stint after dominating Indonesia’s Reinaldy Atmanegara, 26-10, men’s -54kg (fin) final at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Filipino jins, however, failed to add one more gold medal to end their campaign after Rheza Aragon suffered a 35-2 blowout at the hands of Thailand‘s Panipak Wongpattanakit in the women’s 49kg flyweight final.
The Philippine taekwondo team finished with eight gold, nine silver and four bronze medals.