Kick-ass women empower young girls

SOUTHEAST Asian Games Taekwondo gold medalist Pauline Lopez will be teaming up with Karate national athlete Joane Orbon online on Saturday to orient young girls, who have been exposed to violence and abuse or who have been deprived of necessities during lockdown.

Lopez, the winner of the women’s 57-kg gold medal in the Southeast Asian(SEA) Games in Manila last December, told The Manila Times in an online interview on Thursday that she and SEA Games Karate bronze medalist Joane Orbon will answer questions live on Instagram.

The live fundraiser, according to Lopez, is called “Girls Got This under the Fund Life.” All proceeds of the advocacy will fund the needs of less fortunate girls.

“During this time, many women, especially young girls, are exposed to violence, abuse, absence of basic needs and shelter. I stand with those girls,” said Lopez, who invites everyone to ask questions about their lives and how they became winning athletes.

“And along with Joane Orbon, a member of the Karate national team, we stand with those girls and are creating awareness that this tragedy exists, and so, with that being said, we are trying to raise money to give a chance for these girls,” she explained.

She also reminds fellow athletes to keep their minds and bodies fit throughout the confusing phases of community quarantines.

“Stay positive, and use this time to sharpen your skills as athletes,” she added. “Although we have [physical] distancing and we should stay away from other people for now, it doesn’t mean that we should lose track [of] our vision and our goals,” she added.

“We should remain to have faith that this too shall pass and when it does, at least [we’ll] be ready to conquer [our] goals,” she continued.

After preparing for the last SEA Games, Lopez has been spending her time in Subic, resting her mind and relaxing. She was set to train for the Karate Olympic qualifying tournaments, but then, the pandemic threw all sports schedules out the window.

While making do with limited physical workout facilities, Lopez went from resting her mind to training it with lots of lightweight reading and heavyweight books.

“I’m staying at home. I’m spending this time to still train my body. And along with this, I try to feed my mind as well, [reading] books. And believe it or not, I’m also using this time for my body to recover. Usually during this time of the year, I train my body tirelessly,” she explained.

“So, now I’m giving my body the proper recovery it deserves. I also continue to watch Taekwondo matches and study fights,” she concluded.

The 23-year-old Taekwondo jin added that she maintains fitness through a set of routines and workouts with her trainers. Her strength and conditioning coach Luis Demesa has made a detailed plan for the whole national team, scheduled every Monday, Wednesday and Friday via Zoom.

Despite all the natural and man-made setbacks since March, Lopez’s ultimate goal is still to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics next year.