KURT Barbosa qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after reaching the finals of the 2021 Asian Taekwondo Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Amman, Jordan.
Barbosa beat Zaid Al-Halawani of Jordan, 50-49, in the semifinals of the men’s -58 kilogram division, enough to secure a place in the Olympics.
The 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist and 2018 UAAP Rookie MVP out of National University will face Ramnarong Sawekwiharee of Thailand in the final set to be held later in the day.
Barbosa started out the campaign in the Olympic qualifier with a 40-33 win over Molomyn Tumenbayar of Mongolia before the slim victory over his Jordan opponent.
Barbosa’s conquest made up for the defeats of Pauline Lopez and Kirstie Elaine Alora during the day.
Lopez crashed out after Laetitia Aoun of Lebanon, 21-10, in the quarterfinals, while Alora lost to Svetlana Osipova of Uzbekistan in her first match.
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