HANGZHOU, China—Patrick King Perez bagged the bronze medal in the men’s individual poomsae on Sunday, delivering the first medal for Team Philippines in the 19th Asian Games.
Perez dropped his semifinal clash with Chinese Taipei’s Ma Yun Zhong after scoring 6.910 points in taekwondo discipline that combined both the freestyle and recognized events.
“I couldn’t believe I won a bronze. I’m really happy, all the hard work paid off,’’ said the 23-year-old Perez, the reigning Southeast Asian Games champion.
Ma got the attention of the judges and scored 7.450 to advance to the gold-medal duel against South Korea’s Kang Wanjin at the Lin’an Sports and Culture Exhibition Centre here.
Perez registered 7.640 points in the recognized and 6.180 in the freestyle while Ma had a combined output of 8.000 and 6.900 in his routines.
The De La Salle University star in the UAAP set up the semis showdown with Ma after defeating Prem Bahadur Limbu of Nepal in the quarterfinals.
Perez earlier beat Souksavanh Chanthilath of Laos in the round of 16 before meeting Limbu.
Meanwhile, three-time SEA Games gold winner Jocel Lyn Ninobla failed to advance and bombed out of contention following a stinging defeat at the hands of South Korea’s Kang Wanjin in the women’s individual poomsae Round of 16.
