Mentally sharp Lopez excited, ready for Olympic shot in April

Pauline Lopez, one of the Philippines’ bright bets for an Olympic berth, said working on the mental facets of her game is just as essential in her bid for the Tokyo Games’ taekwondo event.

“I’ve been doing this sport for 10 years—and with the national team. I know just how hard it is and just how anybody is vulnerable to burnout,” she told the Inquirer during the Philippine Sportswriters’ Association awards night at the Manila Hotel recently.

“I already know my strengths and weaknesses. But you ought to sharpen the stuff that no one really thinks about,” she said.

That includes focus, along with the minute details of the craft like footwork and the rapport with the coach, according to Lopez.

“Those little things matter.”

The 23-year-old jinn out of Ateneo, who also recently stamped her class in the 30th Southeast Asian Games here, will be competing in the Asian Qualification Tournament (AQT) in Amman, Jordan, on April 10 in hopes of tabbing a ticket to the Olympics.A pair of slots are up for grabs in the AQT and Lopez will be seeing action in the -57-kilogram field.

“For these qualifiers, we only have one chance. You just have to make the finals. The gold and silver serve as the tickets,” she said.

Which is exactly why she had to put a premium on her being psychologically sound.

“I am so excited,” she said. INQ