AND then there were nine.
Taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa became the ninth Filipino athlete to book a spot in the rescheduled Olympic Games in Tokyo this year after hitting the mark in the Asian qualifiers in Amman, Jordan, on Saturday.
Mr. Barbosa, 21, scored a thrilling 50-49 victory over hometown bet Zaid Al-Hawani in the qualifying match in the men’s -59 kg division with a buzzer-beating kick.
Down by five points, 48-43, with 24 seconds to go, Mr. Barbosa stayed aggressive and scored on a barrage of kicks to overhaul his deficit, including a kick to the body as time expired to hand him the win and the Olympic spot, one of two up for grabs in his division.
National University student-athlete Barbosa will be the first Filipino taekwondo jin to compete in the Olympic since Tshomlee Go did it in 2008 in Beijing.
Mr. Barbosa joins Filipino athletes EJ Obiena (pole vault), Caloy Yulo (gymnastics), Eumir Felix Marcial, Irish Magno, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam (boxing), Hidilyn Diaz (weightlifting), and Cris Nievarez (rowing) who have qualified for spots to date for the Tokyo Games happening from July 23 to Aug. 8.
Apart from Mr. Barbosa, other jins who competed in the Asian qualifiers were 2016 Rio Olympics campaigner Kirstie Alora, Pauline Lopez and Arven Alcantara. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo