SEAG champ Ninobla rules Smart/MVP online taekwondo poomsae tiff

MANILA, Philippines – Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Jocel Lyn Ninobla continued to be on her fine form amid the COVID-19 pandemic after reigning supreme in the inaugural Smart/MVP Sports Foundation Online National Taekwondo Poomsae Championships over the weekend.

Fresh from an identical gold medal win in the first-ever Online Daedo Open European Poomsae Championships last month, the University of Santo Tomas standout tallied 8. 333 points to rule the black belt female senior division participated by 33 jins.

Her fellow Thomasian Aidane Krishia Laxa (8.150) took home the silver while La Salle’s Daphne Ching  (8.100)  and Mikee Rose Regala (8.067) wound up for the bronze in the event organized by the Philippine Taekwondo Association.

A three-time UAAP champion, the 23-year-old star snared the gold in the women’s recognized poomsae in the biennial meet held here last December.

She also shone bright in an online international tourney last May 14, beating bets from Spain and Iran for the European poomsae title.

SEA Games silver medalist Patrick King Perez, meanwhile, captured the crown in the black belt male senior category of the historic online poomsae event attended by around 1, 000 jins nationwide.

Perez scored 7.967 points to edge out La Salle’s Raphael Enrico Mella (7.933 points), who settled for the silver. Iloilo’s Joshua Cachero (7.750) and Dominic Navarro (7.733) of UP Diliman completed the podium.

National junior team members King Nash Alcairo from the Quezon Taekwondo Academy and Sofia Ysabelle Sarmiento of SIPA ruled the junior divisions.

This historic PTA event aimed to continue taekwondo programs even online as the sports industry, particular contact sports, is yet to receive a green light from government and health authorities to resume activities.