Five taekwondo jins preparing for this month’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) are expected to level up the intensity of their training inside the bubble at Inspire in Calamba, Laguna.
Marc Velasco, the chief of staff of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), said Friday, March 12, that the next two months would be crucial since the OQT is set on May 14 to 15 in Amman, Jordan.
“The taekwondo team is entering its crucial training phase,” said Velasco, also the national training director. “Expect the intensity to go up with two months left before the important tournament.”
Pauline Lopez, the reigning two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist and Asian Games bronze medal winner, leads the national team to the OQT where only two per country are allowed two join.
Also set to see action is Rio Olympics veteran Kirtsie Elaine Alora in the women’s category.
In the men’s division, the prospects for the Tokyo Olympics Asian qualifiers are SEAG gold medalist Kurt Barbosa and Samuel Morrison, as well as Arven Alcantara, who won silver in the biennial meet.
Aside from taekwondo, karatedo is also preparing for its own OQT in Paris, France this June. The karatedo athletes, however, will leave for Turkey next week for a two-month training camp.
The national boxing team, meanwhile, is now in Thailand also for its training camp after almost two months in the Laguna bubble.