Courtesy: Ricky Lim/ POC Media
NAGOYA, Japan – Marie June Adriano ended the Philippines karate team’s campaign on a high note after capturing bronze in the women’s kumite -50kg division at the Toyohashi Gymnasium on Wednesday.
The 22-year old Adriano defeated Chinese Taipei’s Ya-chi Chung, 10-3 to give her team its second bronze and the country its fifth medal overall.
Adriano showed great focus in the all-important match, scoring seven straight points after Chung tied the score at 3-3 with an ippon.
The bronze-medal victory was particularly significant for Adriano, who was competing
internationally at the Asian Games for the first time.
She also had added motivation against Chung, having lost to the same opponent in
their previous two meetings. Adriano said she reviewed their past encounters and made
the necessary adjustments before the deciding bout.
“Mas nagtiwala po ako sa technique ko, sa kung ano yung baon ko, kung ano yung
trinain ko para sa competition na ito,” the Human Kinetics student at PUP and a native of Llanera in Nueva Ecija said.
“Super laking bagay niya para sa akin. As a first-timer, talagang yung pressure,
nandoon lahat,” Adriano said. “Sobrang happy po ako na isa ako sa napili at
nakapagbigay ako ng medalya para sa Pilipinas.”
Meanwhile, Alwyn Batican fought gallantly but failed to secure the bronze in the men’s kumite -75kg event.
The SEA Games bronze medalist bowed to Asian Senior Championship titleholder Nurkanat Azihkanov of Kazakhstan, 10-1 on Tuesday in his bid to clinch his first Asiad medal.
Batican, 29, was relegated to the battle for third after losing to former Asian champion Morteza Nemati of Iran, 8-2 in the semifinals.
About the Author
