Taekwondo athlete Kathleen Alora won her bronze after reaching the semifinals in the 47 kilogram category while Domingo Veronica finished third in the women's 63 kilograms.

Boxer Violito Payla also advanced to the semifinals of the flyweight division after stopping India's Jitender Kumar in the third round with an emphatic RSC-O (referee stopped contest-outscored).

Payla is set to face China's Bo Yang in the final four for a chance to vie for the gold medal.

Local reports said hopes are high for the men's bowling team as the five some of Paeng Nepomuceno, Biboy Rivera, Markwin Tee, CJ Suarez and Chester King placed third on Thursday behind South Korea and Qatar.

Half of the 20 teams will still complete play in the first block of the men's five-player team final at the Qatar Bowling Center.

Also in the heat of battle are the Philippine bets in taekwondo, where fin weight John Paul Lizardo advanced to the last 8 with a 2-0 win over Bangladeshi Wahid Bin Azim in the 54 kilograms category where no South Korean is entered, thus turning the fight for medal wide open, said a report by The Philippine Star daily.