Friday, February 29, 2008 Judoka Baylon to Hongkong tourney By Henry C. Villalva
NEGRENSE judoka John Baylon of Binalbagan, Negros Occidental together with three other female judokas will compete in the Hongkong International Judo Tournament from March 1 to 2 at the Tsuan Wen West Sports Center in Kowloon as part of their preparations for the Olympic qualifying tournament.
Top judokas from all over Asia are expected to compete in the event which is considered as a preview of the Olympic qualifying event in Korea later.
The Negrense holds the distinction of being the only SEAG athlete to win eight consecutive golds in judo.
Baylon will be joined in the Hongkong event by SEAG medalists Karen Solomon, Ruth Duga-Duga and Helen Dawa.
Solomon who is competing in the 70-kilogram division, and Dawa, who competes in the 52-kilogram class both son golds in the 2005 SEAGames while Duga-Duga is a silver-medalist in the 78-kilogram category.
Baylon, who competes in the 81-kilogram class, said this is an excellent opportunity for them to prepare for the Olympic qualifying competition.
He said they need more international exposures in preparation for the Olympic qualifying event and considers the Japanese to be their toughest opponents in the tournament.
"We are in a position to bring home golds in this tournament," Baylon said.
The Hongkong event is the first of several tournaments lined up for the six-man team that will try to secure Olympic berths during the Asian Judo Championship in Jehu, South Korea this April.
The team leaves for Hongkong on Friday.
The athletes were recognized by the Bacolod sports media during last year's edition of the SCOOP Awards presented by the Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines (SCOOP Bacolod) as one of the year's outstanding athletes of Negros.
