Filipino jins Kurt Barbosa and Tachiana Mangin scored silver medals on Friday night in taekwondo, bringing Team Philippines’ medal count in the 20th Asian Games to 28—4 gold, 8 silver, and 16 bronze.
Barbosa, a Philippine team veteran, and Mangin, an Asian Games debutant, both marched through to the finals earlier in the day, with the latter doing so in dramatic fashion. Unfortunately, Mangin couldn’t sustain her fiery form in the gold‑medal match as she fell to China’s Ma Jingyue, 2‑0, in the women’s ‑49kg category. Barbosa, meanwhile, dropped an action‑packed finale to Kazakhstan’s Tamirlan Tleules, 2‑0, in the men’s ‑58kg division.
Mangin, 18, is one of the Philippines’ rising stars in taekwondo, while Barbosa, 27, is a veteran with extensive international experience.
The Gold Rush That Wasn’t for Team Philippines
Incidentally, Friday could’ve been a big day for Team Philippines. It started off on a bright note midday when Jesus Yape delivered the country’s fourth gold in the 20th Asian Games after defeating Vietnam’s Ngoc Tuyet Sang Chau, 2‑0, in the mixed individual virtual taekwondo event.
A couple of hours later, Carlo Paalam climbed the ring against Japan’s Rui Yamaguchi with gold on the line in the men’s 55kg category in boxing. The Olympian finished with a flourish, but that late surge couldn’t quite make up for a slow start and an uneven second round as he lost a 3‑2 decision to the hometown bet. He later rued the refereeing and judging, but he also left points on the table with his slow start.
Then came Barbosa’s and Mangin’s late‑day run, where the veteran overcame Japan’s Hidetaka Maeda, 2‑1, in the quarterfinals and then dominated Jordan’s Jafar Aldaoud, 2‑0, to make it to the gold‑medal match. Mangin, on the other hand, beat Chinese Taipei’s Wang Chieh‑ling, 2‑1, in the quarters and then came from behind to stun Japan’s Ruka Okamoto, 2‑1, to enter the finals.
Unfortunately, both Barbosa and Mangin couldn’t quite finish the job in the finals, with Mangin outdone by her foe’s tactical superiority and patience, and Barbosa outgunned in an action‑packed final. It was, for all intents and purposes, an anticlimactic finish to an inspiring run, but it was still good enough for two more silver medals.
An Encouraging Sign Nonetheless
Yes, Team Philippines could’ve been sitting on 7 gold medals already after Friday’s slate of action. Yape opened the proverbial floodgates, but Paalam, Mangin, and Barbosa couldn’t quite deliver the golden rush that would’ve propelled the Philippines upward in the medal standings.
But, in the end, that golden flurry didn’t happen. It was the gold rush that never was—and it was a letdown as much as it was a heartbreak. But it also proved one thing: the Filipino athlete can compete at that gold‑medal level.
That gold rush didn’t happen for Team Philippines. It might come sooner rather than later.
