The Olympic first-timer Alora bowed to veteran Espinoza of Mexico.
The Philippines’ last woman standing in the Rio Olympics, Kirstie Elaine Alora, has fallen down to Mexican icon Maria del Rosario Espinoza in the Round of 16 of the women’s over-67 division of the Taekwondo event.
The match ended with 4-1 in the score card, in favor of Espinoza. The event was held in Carioca Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 28-year-old Espinoza scored first on a counter during the first of 3 rounds, but Alora was able to tie the match by dropping her opponent. Unfortunately for the 26-year-old Filipina, that was the only conversion she ended up earning the entire match.
Espinoza dominated the remainder of the bout, scoring again to make it 2-1 and then converting on a 45-kick for a 3-1 edge.
The Mexican athlete then scored on a turning kick in the third round, going up 4-1 and icing the victory.
But all is not lost for Alora despite the defeat, thanks to taekwondo’s repechage. The first-round loser gets a chance to fight for the bronze medal provided the opponent who beat her goes all the way to the finals.
“I could not fire off shots because of (Espinoza’s) footwork,” said Alora as she and coach Roberto Cruz headed for the dugout to plan a possible fight in the repechage, set in the afternoon. “I could not anticipate what she’d do next because she kept moving away after each attack”.
Espinoza, the former world and Olympic champion, is heavily tipped to advance to the gold-medal fight from the upper half of the 16-fighter draw.
An army private and a national heroine in Mexico, Espinoza advanced to the quarterfinals against Morroco’s Wiam Dislam, needing a win to at least seal a spot in the bronze-medal round. Another win would clinch her a finals berth.
The two actually went head to head back in 2009, when Alora was also defeated by Espinoza. According to the Filipina Olympian, there were similarities and a big difference in her opponent from then and now.