15-man PH team pits skills against 75 nations

Fifteen Philippine junior team members will vie for honors in the 2016 World Junior Taekwondo Championships beginning Tuesday at Bill Copeland Sports Centre in Burnaby, Canada.

The Filipinos will take on the best junior jins in five divisions from 75 countries like Korea, France, Spain, Iran, Turkey, US and China and Taiwan. 

Their participation in the five-day event will serve as a tune-up for the 2017 Asian Junior Championships slated in Uzbekistan.

Former Philippine ace Monsour del Rosario III will lead the team while Dindo Simpao and Napoleon Dagdagan are the head coaches.

The competing male jins are Gabriel Elpidio Lamarca, who is competing in the -45 kilogram category; Raymundo Alombro III (-48kg), Carlo Dominic Dionisio (-51 kg), Gian Carlo Gutierrez (-55kg), Sal Luigi Estrada (-59kg), Harley Vincent Santos (-63kg), Gabriel Salknib Soria (-68kg) and Alvaro Joaquin Aranton (-78kg).

The female squad is composed of Ezra Balingit (-42kg), Abigail Faye Valdez (-44kg), Veronica Garces (-46kg), Baby Jessica Canabal (-40kg), Beatrice Kassandra Gaerlan (-52kg), Florence Mae Chavez (-55kg) and Laila Delo (-63kg). Vanessa B. Hidalgo