MANILA, Philippines — Filipino taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa ended his Tokyo Olympics journey as he did not get a favorable result from a match on which his medal hopes depended.
Tunisian Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi upset world champion South Korean Jun Jang, 25-19, in the semifinals of the men's -58kg event Saturday afternoon, effectively ending Barbosa’s medal hopes.
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Barbosa needed Jang — whom he lost to, 6-26, in the Round of 16 early Saturday — to enter the gold medal match to qualify for the repechage, which could've given the Filipino a chance to clinch a bronze medal.
However, Jang — a five-time Grand Prix gold medalist — took the shock defeat in the semis and thus fell to the bronze medal match.
The UAAP MVP went to social media shortly after his campaign ended.
"God's plan," wrote Barbosa. "Thank you Lord."
The 22-year-old thus became the first athlete to fall out of contention from the Philippines’ 19-strong contingent. — With reports from Luisa Morales