Far Eastern University (FEU) Taekwondo achieved gold, silver, and bronze medals in the recently concluded 2022 Smart/Manny V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation (MVPSF) National Online Speed Kicking Championship last Sunday, May 22.

The official website of the Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA) streamed the competition which also provided links for every classification from kids to senior level in different virtual court streaming clusters showing the recordings of the athlete’s performances.

FEU Jin Senior Male Black belter Romar Jefferson Javier proceeded with his one-minute routine, eventually scoring 7.23 points to take the win in a close race which secured him the gold medal for the green-and-gold squad just 0.03 points ahead of Giuseppe Emmanuel Caceres of University of Nueva Caceres who scored 7.20.

Senior Female Black belter Regina Abello of FEU on the other hand managed to bag a silver medal after garnering 6.933 points while Gianne Chong of the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) captured the gold with 7.033 points.

Meanwhile, FEU Jin Renniel Joseph Badiola, who competed for the first time in the senior division mentioned how he turned his fears into excitement as he also practiced an optimistic mindset to notch a win in the competition.

“Aside from doing practices to enhance my skills, I also prepared my mind optimally to have a clear goal [for] the event and adhere to the personal strategies and plans minimizing the impact of distractions,” Badiola shared in an interview with the FEU Advocate.

He settled for a bronze medal earning a 7.233 mark together with Matthew Bryan Castañeda of JL TKD who scored 7.367 points.

Badiola still remained optimistic despite settling for a ranked three placement and shared that this experience would help him be better than yesterday.

“Every obstacle is an opportunity, and the failure to get the gold medal has taught me a lot of lessons and amazing experiences that [inspire] and [encourage] me to work harder and to hone my skills to be the best that I can be,” Badiola said.

- Adrian Earl E. Taruc

(Photo courtesy of Regina Abello, Romar Jefferson Javier, and Renniel Joseph Badiola)