Tong-Il Moo-Do: Rapid fire bags gold for Kenya

Kenya's Lona Abiero [Courtesy]

Kenya made a flying start at the World Martial Arts Tong-Il Moo-Do Masterships after they struck four medals, two of them gold from Gordon Ochieng and Lona Abiero; and two bronze to control the medal table.

The championship at the Korean National University of Transportation Amphitheater saw new Kenyan names cast into the limelight with gritty performances before a stunned home crowd.

Gordon Ochieng gave Kenya the first gold in the men’s Super-weight (90+ kg) sparring category by breaking the hearts of partisan home fans with a last gasp victory to triumph 3-2 in regulation time.

 “I panicked in the first round as my opponent was extremely huge, but picked up confidence in the second round,” said Ochieng.

“I thank God for the win. I had few hours to sleep as I strategised on the match. My gold was a motivation to other players and we hope for more medals on the second day,” said Ochieng.

If Ochieng had to dig deep into his fuel tank, the second Kenyan gold came from sheer grit of Abiero – the never-say-die attitude this team has come to adopt with their Team Jasiri tag.

Martial arts has its roots in the Asian civilization. A fixture against an Asian opponent, like Thailand’s Nattakarn Khamsopmpond, whom Abiero came up against will always be faced with fear.

Not for Abiero, who despite a shaky start in the 65kg sparring category final, rallied to dismiss hard fighting Khamsopmpond 5-4.

Abiero started the match slowly going down 3-1 in the first round before she came back strongly and breathing fire.

She combined well her calculated throws, punches and kicking techniques to convince the four judge bench she was unstoppable. Twice, the judges failed to pick out Abiero’s quick-fire punches that left Khamsopmpond gasping for breath – the reserve technical judges were on hand to hand the Kenyan her rightful points.

The manner with which Abiero leapt into the air in celebration told the story of this vicious yet technical fight that end in gold for the Kenyan girl.

“I have showed the world my full potential. To be honest, I knew I would give my best in the match, which I did and my win goes to the over 40 million Kenyans back at home,” she said after the convincing victory.

“The handshake with President Uhuru Kenyattta at State House did the magic,” said Abiero.

Peter Njuguna gave Kenya a bronze medal after he lost in the semi-final of the men’s 90kg sparring category to the eventual gold winner Mohammaddreza Dolatiyan from Iran.

In women’s 51kg sparring category, Kenya’s Patricia Mbago bagged a bronze medal after she lost in the semi-final to the gold winner Unjung Moonville from Philippines. In individual forms category, Kenyan’s Salma Ali powered her way to today’s semi-finals and she is assured of at least a bronze medal. In men’s forms, June Juma also made it to the quarter-finals.