Tokyo Games veteran Kurt Barbosa and SEA Games champion Tachiana Keizha Mangin banner a strong 29-player SMART-MVPSF Philippine team that will see action in the 2026 Asian Taekwondo Championships on May 19-27, 2026 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
With the event being a qualifier for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Philippine Taekwondo Association Grandmaster Sung-Chon Hong expects the best and toughest fighters from South Korea, Iran, China, Uzbekistan, Taiwan, Cambodia and Thailand to likewise compete in the week-long event – all excited to test one’s mettle.
Hong and other PTA officials, including head of delegation Raul Samson, are confident that this year’s batch has what it takes to pull off a big surprise and end the country’s gold medal drought in free sparring (Kyorugi).
Mangin, for one, is fancied to figure prominently in the -49kg division owing to her extraordinary win in her SEA Games debut last year in Chonburi, Thailand that saw her outclass local bet Kamonchanok Seeken, 2-0.
Mangin’s gold-medal win validated her new-found status as the new face of the sport in the country as it came just a little over a year since her historic victory in the 2024 World Taekwondo Junior Championships in Chuncheon, South Korea.
Other members of the PH team that is backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Milo are Algen Aynaga (-58kg), Mythaious Angelous Francois Lustado (-63kg), Kenneth Riley Buenavides (-68kg), Dave Cea (-74kg), and Nicolas Aaron Castillo (-80kg) in the men’s free sparring while beefing up the women’s free sparring are Clarence Sarza (-46 kg.), Baby Jessica Canabal (-53kg.), Czarina Mae Danganan (-57kg). Jubilee Briones (-62kg), and Laila Delo (-67kg).
The poomsae men’s squad is composed of Rodolfo Reyes, Jr., Justin Kobe Macario, Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape, Dominic Tuzon, Darius Venerable, Ian Matthew Corton, Patrick King Perez, King Nash Alcairo, Jay-R Casas and June Ninobla.
Comprising the women’s poomsae squad are Sofia Ysabelle Sarmiento, Juvenile Faye Crisostomo, Janna Dominique Oliva, Zyka Angelica Santiago, Jocel Lyn Ninobla, Maria Nicole Anne Labayne, Aidaine Krishia Laxa and Juliana Mykhail Candelaria, with Allain Keanu Ganapin as the lone para representative.
The event is also part of the team’s preparation for the upcoming 2026 Chuncheon Korea Open Taekwondo Championships, World Poomsae Championships, and Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games (AIMAG).
Also joining the team that is leaving on Thursday, May 14, are former Olympian and now ATU Council member Stephen Fernandez and coaches Gershon Bautista, Kirstie Ellaine Alora, Rani Ann Ortega, and Jeordan Dominguez.
The last Filipino to win a gold medal in free sparring was Pauline Louise Lopez during the Manila edition seven years ago. She shocked defending South Korean champion Lee Ah-Reum, 8-6, for the country’s only gold medal.
cap: For online cap: Member of the PH taekwondo team for the Asian Taekwondo Championships. They are (standing from left) Tachiana Keizha Mangin, Dave Cea, Aljen Aynaga, Kenenth Riley Buenavides, Kirstie Elaine Alora (Kyorugi coach), Rani Ann Ortega (Poomsae coach), head of delegation Raul Samson, Jeordan Dominguez (Poomsae coach), Gershon Bautista (Kyorugi & Para coach), June Ninobla, Kurt Bryan Barbosa, Allan Keanu Ganapin, Nico Aaron Castillo, and Laila Delo.
Kneeling from left are Baby Jessica Canabal, Czarina Mae Danganan, Darius Venerable, Justine Kobe Macario, Jeus Derick Gabriel Yape, King Nash Alcairo, Rodolfo Reyes, Jr., Joaquin Dominic Tuzon, Patrick King Perez, Ian Matthew Corton, Jay-R Casas, Jubilee Briones, and Clarence Sarza.
Sitting from left are Aidaine Krishia Laxa, Maria Nicole Ann Labayne, Zyka Angelica Santiago, Juvenille Faye Crisostomo, Janna Dominique Oliva, Jocel Lyn Ninobla, Sofia Ysabelle Sarmiento and Juliana Mykhail Candelaria.
