Another Olympic-bound athlete for the Philippines as Kurt Bryan Barbosa became the ninth Filipino athlete to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on July 23 to August 8 in Tokyo, Japan.

It was a tough game for the native of Abra as he secured a come-from-behind 50-49 victory over Jordanian Zaid Alhalawani in the men’s +67 kilogram division semifinals of the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament on Saturday night at Amman, Jordan.

The 21-year-old National University Bulldogs taekwondo team standout was trailing by 5 points with 12 seconds remaining in the game. However, it was a different story in the dying seconds of the match after he connected three consecutive valid kicks against Alhalawani to formalize his Olympic quest.

Al Panlilio, president of the MVP Sports Foundation, said Barbosa gave the Filipino people a timely reminder that as long as there’s still time left on the clock, they need to keep fighting.

“Even if Kurt was down big in the third round, his belief in himself never wavered and now he is an Olympian,” he added. “Congratulations to Kurt, the newest member of our Tokyo Olympics delegation.”

Prior to his remarkable feat, Barbosa earned a bye in the round-of-16 before scoring a 40-33 victory over Molomyn Tumenbayar of Mongolia in the quarterfinals.

The 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist and reigning UAAP Rookie MVP, became the first Filipino taekwondo jin to qualify in the Olympics since Tshomlee Go’s stint in Beijing, China 13 years ago. He will also be the lone taekwondo jin from the Philippines to play in the Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan following the defeat of Kirstie Elaine Alora, Pauline Lopez and Arven Alcantara.

Alora failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics after suffering a 27-5 loss to Uzbekistan’s Svetlana Osibopa in the women’s +67 kilogram semifinals. The Filipina, however, salvaged a bronze medal after beating Mokhru Khalimova of Tajikistan.

Lopez bowed to Lebanon’s Laetitia Aoun, 10-21, in the quarterfinals of the women’s -57 kilogram event, while Alcantara lost to Uzbekistan’s Ulugbek Rashitov, 23-9, in his category.

Aside from Barbosa, other Filipino athletes qualified for the Tokyo Olympics are weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, gymnast Carlos Yulo, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, rower Cris Nievarez, and boxers Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, Eumir Marcial, and Ilongga Irish Magno.IMT