JULIANA Gomez captured another gold medal in international competition, ruling the senior women’s epee in the 1st FT Open Championship 2023 on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur.
The 22-year-old Gomez bagged the gold medal by beating Sara Sofea Idongesit of Five Star Fencing Club KEDAH 15-12 in the final.
See Nick Nurse agrees to join Philadelphia 76ers as head coach
On her way to the final round, the daughter of Leyte's fourth district congressman Richard Gomez and Ormoc City mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez defeated Xin Mynn Ho of Blade Malaysia, 15-11, in the semifinal round of the event organized by the Kuala Lumpur Fencing Association and Putrajaya Fencing Association.
“It was a great experience for me, and I’m happy to be able to win the gold and bring honor to the country,” said Gomez, a graduating student at University of the Philippines taking up Public Administration.
Gomez, who represented the Diliman Fencing Club in the tournament, went undefeated in five bouts in her first round pool to get the top seed going to the Direct Elimination.
It was the second gold medal for the reigning UAAP champion in women’s individual epee as she captured the gold in Thailand late last year.
According to Gomez, her goal now is to make it to the national team now that she is almost done with her studies.
“That’s my target now,” said Gomez.
“Once that I’m finished with my studies I’ll have more time for training and competitions. I hope that I can join more tournaments as I prepare for qualifiers for the national team in the next Southeast Asian Games in Thailand,” she added.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph