Kurt Barbosa receives his bronze medal in taekwondo in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games, December 11, 2025. POC Media
BANGKOK – Olympian Kurt Barbosa adds to the country's medal haul, after clinching bronze in the taekwondo kyorugi men’s under 54kg division event at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games.
The result was two places down his 2023 Cambodia SEA Games, where she clinched his third gold medal in the biennial meet.
Barbosa opened his campaign against Thailand's Wisawakorn Jaichoo in the quarterfinals. It was a closely scored match-up, but he narrowly defeated the hometown bet to move to the semifinals.
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Barbosa then faced Vietnam's Nguyen Hong Trong in a bid to continue his title defense. The Filipino taekwondo jin played catch-up in the first round, as his opponent sailed to a 10-0 lead in the first round.
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He turned the tables in the second round, gaining the 10-0 edge over his foe. But in the final round, it was a close match until the Vietnamese jin pulled away.
Meanwhile, Clarence Sarza secured a silver medal finish in the women's under-46 kg event.