By Dugout Philippines
TOYOHASHI, Japan—Making her Asian Games debut at 18 years old, Juliana Candelaria delivered a silver-medal performance in the women’s individual poomsae competition Thursday at the Toyohashi Gymnasium.
Candelaria scored 9.1300 in the gold-medal contest to finish second behind South Korea’s Jung Haeun, who took the gold with 9.3100. Thailand’s Thitaree Kaewolanwasu claimed the bronze with 9.0400.
Candelaria earned a 9.200 score in her recognized poomsae routine before posting 9.060 in the freestyle round.
“Amazing. I feel great about everything,” Candelaria told One Sports. “It’s such an amazing achievement for me. It’s my first Asian Games.”
“Super duper thankful to everyone. My family, my coaches, my teammates,” she added.
Coach Rani Ortega credited the team’s collective effort for Candelaria’s podium finish, which gave the Philippines its fifth silver medal of the Asian Games.
Candelaria joins Jean Claude Saclag (MMA), Marie June Adriano (karate), the Philippine women’s sepak takraw team, and Amaya Amparo Cojuangco (archery) as the country’s other silver medalists.
“Ang mati-take ko [na lesson] here is to live in the moment, kasi what I did in this competition is to enjoy and just be grateful for everything,” Candelaria said.
“Hard work really pays off, with the trust and teamwork of all of us, kaya talaga. Kaya,” Ortega said.
Hours after Candelaria claimed silver in the women’s individual event, Jeus Yape captured the bronze medal in the men’s individual poomsae competition as he delivered a score of 9.0900 to secure third place.
“I’m happy po with my performance. Ginawa ko po ‘yung best ko, ginawa ko po lahat ng makakaya ko,” Yape said in a separate interview.
South Korea’s Yun Kyusung topped the field with a score of 9.3800, while Thailand’s Navin Pinthasute took silver with 9.2800.
Coach Jeordan Domingez credited Yape for overcoming the pressure that comes with competing on the Asian stage.
“I’m so happy for him. I know the feeling because we also competed in this competition before, and I’m very happy and proud of Jeus, together with Mika, because they conquered that fear [of pressure],” Domingez said.
Yape, meanwhile, vowed to build on his performance as he looks ahead to his upcoming competitions.
“Right now I’m happy sa journey ko po, and I’ll just keep moving forward,” he said.
Yape will switch to VR mode as he sees action in the virtual taekwondo round of 16 on Friday, 10 a.m. (Manila time).
Taekwondo, supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission, now has two medals courtesy of poomsae.
