SEA Games: Philippines wrap up taekwondo competition with two golds

Trung Duc Phan of Vietnam (left) competes against Samuel Morrison of the Philippines (right) during the men's under 68kg taekwondo final at the 28th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Singapore on June 14, 2015. The Philippines' won two of the
Trung Duc Phan of Vietnam (left) competes against Samuel Morrison of the Philippines (right) during the men's under 68kg taekwondo final at the 28th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Singapore on June 14, 2015. The Philippines' won two of the four remaining gold medals as the SEA Games taekwondo competition wrapped up on Sunday evening. -- PHOTO: AFP

The Philippines' won two of the four remaining gold medals as the SEA Games taekwondo competition wrapped up on Sunday evening.

Samuel Morrison was crowned champion of the men's under 68kg category after beating Vietnam's Phan Trung Duc 19-12. Defeated semi-finalists, Somsanouk Phommavanh from Laos and Malaysia's Thinagaran Naidu Papunaidu were awarded with joint-bronzes.

Morrison's blaze of punches and kicks excited the crowd at the Singapore Expo as he led from start to finish against Duc.

His compatriot Pauline Lopez added a second gold of the day when she triumphed in the women's under 57kg final. The 19-year-old beat Vietnam's Pham Thi Thu Hien 20-12 to win the title.

Laos' Sonesavanh Sirimanotham and Indonesia's Annisa Cinthya Medina got the joint-bronzes.

For the men's under 74kg category match, Malaysia's Khir Amir Sulaiman grimaced in pain as he withdrew from the men's under 74kg final against Peerathep Sila-On after he was kicked in the knee and was unable to continue the fight, handing the gold to his Thai opponent.

The final gold medal on offer on Sunday, the last day of the taekwondo competition, was the women's under 62kg category.

Vietnam's Ha Thi Nguyen floored Nurulain Ja'afar with a final score of 22-0 with the Bruneian unable to land any hits.

There were no bronze medals given under the men's under 74kg and women's under 62kg categories.

Vietnam are this SEA Games' top performing nation in taekwondo with five golds and three silvers. Singapore are fifth in the discipline's medal tally with two golds, won by Chelsea Sim and Kang Rui Jie in their respective individual poomsae finals.

wslok@sph.com.sg

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