Kirstie Alora’s taekwondo tale might not have had the storybook ending she hoped for. But she has big plans to keep inspiring the next generation of Pinoy taekwondo jins.
In the women’s +67kg Round of 16 at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Alora faced off against Iran’s Anahita Tavakoli and came up short, losing 0-2.
This tournament marked the farewell run for the two-time Asian Games bronze medalist, who had announced her retirement plans before the competition.
But don’t think for a second that Alora is hanging up her taekwondo gear for good. The 33-year-old athlete said she would continue serving as an inspiration to the country’s emerging taekwondo athletes.
“I want to be an inspiration to my other teammates at sa mga bagong papasok sa national team,” said Alora in an interview with One Sports.
And she’s wasting no time offering words of wisdom to up and coming Filipino taekwondo athletes: “Do your best lang. Syempre para sa bayan natin ito. Training lang ng mabuti. Wag tayo susuko.”
<iframe src=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FOneSportsPHL%2Fvideos%2F1026405422037569%2F&show_text=false&width=357&t=0″ width=”357″ height=”476″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=”true” allow=”autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share” allowFullScreen=”true”></iframe>
The four-time SEA Games gold medalist expressed her gratitude for the unwavering support she has received in her 18 years in the Philippine taekwondo team.
“Wag kayo magsawa suportahan din yung other teams na nandito sa Asian Games na lalaban pa,” she added.
