FOLLOWING HIS loss to top seeded Jang Jun of South Korea in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Kurt Barbosa of the Philippines has been eliminated from the  Taekwondo Men’s -58 kg event. The round of 16 event was held earlier today at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 

Barbosa and Jun faced off in the first match of the day, in which Barbosa struggled against Jun from the get-go. Jun built a sizable 12-1 lead to close the first round, ballooning his advantage into a 24-6 lead by the end of the second round. The pace slowed in the third round, but Barbosa was unable to close the deficit. Barbosa finished his maiden Olympic match with a score of 6-26, bowing out to his South Korean opponent.

While the loss to Jun eliminated Barbosa from gold medal contention, Barbosa had a chance to compete in the repechage for a bronze medal if Jun advanced to the gold medal match. In the quarterfinal match that followed, Jun defeated Spain’s Adrián Vicente in a much-closer 24-19 affair. However, Jun was defeated in the semifinals by the 12th-seeded Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi of Tunisia with a score of 25-19, thereby eliminating Barbosa from medal contention.

A Southeast Asian Games gold medalist in his own right, Barbosa is the first athlete from the Philippine delegation to conclude their 2020 Olympic journey.