3-time UAAP poomsae champ bags gold in first international online taekwondo tourney

A taekwondo jin from the University of Santo Tomas made history after capturing gold for the Philippines in the first Online Daedo Open European Poomsae Championships on Sunday.

The enhanced community quarantine did not stop three-time UAAP poomsae champion Jocel Ninobla from bringing glory to the country in the under-30 female category as she registered a total average score of 7.565 for gold.

Spain’s Raquel Sanchez and Iran’s Mahsa Sadeghi bagged silver and bronze, respectively.

Last year, Ninobla also struck gold in the women’s recognized event of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. She also claimed silver in the women's recognized team event together with fellow Thomasian Aidaine Laxa and De La Salle University’s Rinna Babanto.

The Online Daedo Open European Poomsae Championships is an experimental event organized by the European Taekwondo Union as a way to continue the sport amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. —Ma. Angelica Garcia/MGP, GMA News