Courtesy: POC Media
Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape reigned supreme in virtual taekwondo’s Asian Games debut by winning the gold medal in the mixed individual event against Vietnam’s Ngoc Tuyet Sang Chau, 2-0 on Friday at the Toyohashi Gymnasium in Acihi, Japan.
The Filipino jin’s gold became this year’s Asiad’s fourth for the Philippines, matching the country’s total from the Hangzhou Games three years ago.
Not under the radar to win, Yape demonstrated what made him a formidable athlete in this emerging discipline, where a contactless, digital adaptation of the traditional martial arts is played using VR headsets and motion-tracking sensors that translate movements into digital avatars.
He scored 500-0 in the first round before completing the sweep of his Vietnamese opponent in the second, 620-0.
In the earlier stages, Yape displayed dominance as well, beating Saudi Arabia’s Dunga Saber in the Round of 16 (2-1), Japan’s Hayake Suzuki in the quarterfinal (2-1), and Kazakhstan’s Rita Bakisheva in the semifinal (2-0).
Yape is now a double-medalist in his first Asian Games after also bagging a bronze in the men’s individual poomsae on Thursday.
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