TAEKWONDO jin Patrick King Perez salvaged a bronze medal in the men's poomsae event, the first medal for the Philippines in the 19th Asian Games, which officially opened Saturday evening, September 23, in Hangzhou, China.
The 23-year-old Perez succumbed to Asia's No. 2 Ma Yun Zhong of Chinese Taipei in the men's poomsae finals at the Lin'an Sports Culture and Exhibition Centre. The latter scored 7.450 points over the Filipino's 6.910 to advance to the gold medal round.
“I could not believe I won a bronze, I am really happy,” he added.
The other semis match saw South Korea's Kang Wanjin beating Vietnam's Tran Ho Duy, 7.410-7.120, to arrange a titular showdown with Ma Yun Zhong.
Perez, a De La Salle University product, barged into the semifinals by outclassing two opponents.
He eliminated Chantilath Souksavanh of Laos (7.700-7.440) in Round 16 before outshining Nepal's Limbu Prem Bahadur (7.560-7.160) in the quarterfinals. MLSA