ONCE again, Thomasian athletes showed excellent form by bringing home medals from the recent Southeast Asian Games held in Ho Chi Min, Vietnam.
UST contributed to the Philippine cause behind International Chess Master Ronald Dableo who snagged a gold in the chess team event.
Dableo, the UST women’s chess team’s head coach, defeated the likes of fellow Filipino and Grandmaster Bong Villamayor, Grandmaster Adianto Yutut of Indonesia, Grandmaster Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam, and Singapore’s Grandmasters Wong Meng Kong and Shaobin.
Dableo is scheduled to participate in the Chess World Championships to be held in Tripoli, Libya this July.
If he manages two consecutive wins in the upcoming tournament, he will then acquire the much coveted title of “Grandmaster.”
Meanwhile, Kalindi Tamayo snagged the silver medal in the Taekwondo bantamweight division after toppling her Cambodian opponent, 5-3.
She was also able to snag a victory via default against her Malaysian counterpart, who did not show up due to an illness.
However, Tamayo, the 64th UAAP season women’s taekwondo Most Valuable Player, succumbed to a Thai jin, 4-6.
World Cup silver medallist Tshomlee Go lost unconvincingly to Thailand in the flyweight division, 14-3. Go, as narrated by one of his teammates, lost due to biased officiating that surprised even his opponent.
Jefferthom Go grabbed the bronze in the featherweight division by exacting vengeance on Malaysia, 5-3, after losing to Laos, 2-0.
After drubbing Singapore, 3-0, UST Taekwondo head coach Dindo Simpao settled for silver in the heavyweight division when he yielded to his Vietnamese opponent, 2-0.
Simpao’s battle with Vietnam was halted during the second round because of his right instep injury, which he acquired in his first win against Indonesia, 15-11.
Chuncheon Open gold medalist Alex Briones seized the silver medal after defeating Cambodia, 9-4, and Indonesia, 5-2, before bowing out to Thailand, 8-5.
National team member Daleen Cordero also participated but yielded right after her first fight in the flyweight division against the Asian games silver medallist of Thailand, 4-3.
In judo, SEA Games silver medallist Karen Solomon snatched the silver medal in the –70 division after gaining a koka (1/8 point) against Myanmar, an ippon (full point) through grappling against Thailand, and another ippon against Vietnam through a hipthrow.
Jose Bimbo F. Santos
