Julio Miguel Zapata, a NTU-Tigers mainstay, brought home the bronze in the recent 16th ASEAN Taekwondo Championships.
Zapata beat his opponent from Vietnam with the score of 7-0 in the first round and 1-0 in the 2nd round. But as he climbed to the semi-finals, he fell short during the 3rd round against Philippine team member, Rodito Sinugbojan.
Zapata took pride in being among the few who was able to defeat a national team member of Vietnam.
“I acknowledged what I need to work on, and I will train harder to not make the same mistakes again. I am thankful to the Philippine Taekwondo Association for giving me this international experience.” Zapata said.
Fellow Negrense fighters that also brought home the hardware were Ethan Chavez (Silver), Joshua Deita (Bronze), and Dex Ian Chavez (Bronze) from Hanah Taekwondo and Phikoma.*
