One of the athletes of Timor-Leste became emotional as she finally won a medal for her country in the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Taekwondo jin Imbrolia De Araujo Dos Reis Amorin placed third in the women’s 57kg division to win a bronze for her country Timor-Leste on Sunday.
Amorin couldn’t stop from being emotional after she was assured of a bronze medal.
“It’s the first medal for my country. That’s why I’m so emotional. I feel so happy. I’m so excited. I give this medal for our country,” said Amorin.
Several Filipinos who saw the victory of Amorin personally didn’t let the opportunity escape to have a selfie with the Timorese athlete.
Listen to the Filipino fans after Dos Reis of Timor Leste came to the mat for her semifinal match against Cambodia (? @zhazhareynales) #SEAGames2019 #WeWinAsOne @spinph pic.twitter.com/TJyZuG1A1d
— Reuben Terrado (@reubensports) December 8, 2019
It can be remembered that Filipino sports fans also cheered for Timor-Leste after seeing that the said country is the only participant with zero medal since day 1 of SEA Games.
During her semifinal match against Cambodia, Amorin even gained cheers from the Filipinos, shouting ‘Timor-Leste’ when she was introduced.
The match was held at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Timor-Leste only got assured of medal on Sunday since the SEA Games started after flyweight Jose Barreto Quintos Da Silva was already qualified to get a bronze medal after successfully entering the semifinal bout of the boxing competition.
Amorin is the first one who got the actual medal before Da Silva as the medal awarding ceremony for boxing was scheduled on Monday.
Meanwhile, another athlete from Timor-Leste Ana Da Costa Da Silva Pinto Belo brought the first silver medal for her country on Monday.
It was Timor Leste’s sixth silver medal since they started participating in SEA Games in 2003.
As of writing, Timor-Leste already got 6 medals (1 silver and five bronze)