TAGUM CITY -- Iligan City bagged the first poomsae gold medal as Davao City's kyorugi jins advanced in the Batang Pinoy 2019 Mindanao leg taekwondo competition that kicked off at Gaisano Mall here yesterday.
Kairos William Almonia registered 7.685 points to beat teammate Liam Reilley Rubio (7.620) and Cabanglasan's Rey Angelo Macapundag (7.550) who ended up with the silver and bronze, respectively.
Batang Pinoy newbie Almonia, 12, said he did not expect to win the gold. "I'm happy. This is my first time at kinabahan talaga ako," he said, adding that all he thought about was that he was alone performing his routine.
He also said the poomsae is more difficult than the kyorugi since in the former one has to perfect the forms after doing it over and over again.
Almonia, however, downplayed their chances in the team poomsae event.
Meanwhile, Davao City jins John Louis Zaballero and Kurt Sebastian Velchez advanced in their respective kyorugi divisions.
Zaballero crushed Kieth Enzo Avila of Malita, Davao Occidental, 16-0, in cadet boys bantamweight division while Velchez subdued Zack Kevin Aguelo of Kiamba, Sarangani Province, 3-0, in cadet boys featherweight event.