Ninobla unbeatable in virtual tourney

PHILIPPINE 30th Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Jocel Lyn Ninobla continued to impress after dominating the black belt female senior division of the 2020 Smart/mvp Sports Foundation Online Taekwondo Poomsae Championships on Sunday.

After capturing the First Online Daedo European Poomsae Championship two weeks ago, the 23-year-old standout out of University of Santo Tomas earned 8.333 points to win gold in her category.

Another UST jin, Aidane Krishia Laxa, placed second with 8.150 points, while De La Salle University’s Daphne Ching and Mikee Rose Regala shared third spot with 8.100 and 8.067 points, respectively.

Ninobla’s star twinkled in the 30th SEA Games last December after she topped the women’s recognized poomsae event. She partnered with Laxa and Rinna Babanto to claim silver in the team event.

In the black belt male senior division, SEA Games silver medalist Patrick King Perez surprised four-time champion Raphael Enrico Mella after scoring 7.967 points. Mella settled for silver with 7.933.

Young athletes King Nash Alcairo and Sofia Ysabelle Sarmiento, meanwhile, topped the black junior male and female categories, respectively. The Philippine Taekwondo Association organized the event which attracted 1,000 participants in several age-groups.

It was inspired by the Daedo European tournament which was staged when the whole world was in lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic.