Juliana Candelaria scored a silver medal for the Philippines on the opening day of the taekwondo competitions in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 on Thursday.
The 18-year-old Candelaria placed second in the women’s individual poomsae final with a score of 9.1300, behind South Korea’s Jung Haeun, who won gold with 9.3100.
Thailand’s Thitaree Kaewolanwasu and Japan’s Yuiko Niwa got the bronze medal.
Poomsae is the non-combat discipline of taekwondo.
Candelaria was the first to see action for the Philippine taekwondo team, which also has athletes competing in the kyorugi events.
Fellow Filipino Jeus Yape, meanwhile, also qualified for the gold medal round of the men’s individual poomsae.
Candelaria’s silver is the second for Team Philippines on Thursday after Amaya Cojuangco in the women’s compound archery.