Aislinn Agnes Yap produced a third and final gold medal for the Philippines to cap a respectable showing in the 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo Championships presented by the Philippine Sports Commission yesterday.
In front of hometown fans at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Yap took down bull-strong Zamzagul Faizollanova of Kazakhstan midway into their match to fashion a close 1-0 decision in retaining her women’s -80-kilogram combat sambo crown.
Yap’s pin-down of the five-time Kazakhstan national champion was placed under protest by her camp, but a review of the tape by technical officials upheld the previous decision.
It was a third mint for the hosts after national team members Jomary Torres and Aumagel Princess Cortez ruled their respective divisions the previous night in the meet held under the auspices of the National Sports Tourism Interagency Committee led by PSC Chairman Patrick Gregorio.
Ranked No. 7 in the world, Torres had literally a knockout performance, striking with a picrture perfect right roundhouse kick to the head of Kazakhstan’s Zhadyra Paiyz barely seconds into their women’s 50kg combat sambo finals match.
Taking stock of the condition of Paiyz, who stayed on her knees and looked glassy-eyed from the hit, the referee stopped the fight and declared the Filipina fighter the winner by an 8-0 count for the gold.
In gesture of concern and sportsmanship, Torres then stooped down beside her fallen foe to see if she was okay.
Inspired by her national teammate’s sterling outing, Cortez struck hard and early in fashion in an emphatic 9-2 triumph over another Kazakhstani, Mervet Berdhinakova in the women’s 59kg women’s combat sambo class.
Their triumphs softened somewhat the 0-6 loss in the women’s +80kg combat sambo defending champion Sydney Sy to familiar rival and former world champion Arailym Abenova of Kazakhstan the same night.
The third silver for the country came yesterday courtesy of national team newcomer Jasmaine Henryk Ching, who lost by submission to Kazakhstan’s Gulo Almukhanbetova in the women’s -54kg sport sambo finals.
It was a productive finish for the hosts as they took three gold, three silver and eight bronze medals, surpassing their two golds from Yap and Sy to finish fifth overall in the medal standings among 22 countries that took part in the meet organized by the Pilipinas Sambo Federation, Inc.
