JUNNA Tsukii lived up to her lofty billing and delivered the Philippines' first karatedo gold medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games on Saturday.
Tsukii, the 2018 Asian Games bronze medalist, trumped Thi Huong Dinh of Vietnam, 1-0, to reign supreme in the women's -50 kg kumite at the World Trade Center.
The 28-year old coasted through the early stages, beating Florence Nay Chi Htun of Myanmar, 2-0, in the prelims, Nor Azli Siti Nur Azwani of Malaysia, 6-0, in the quarters, and Paweena Raksachart of Thailand in the semis, 3-1.
Norman Marz Montalvo, meanwhile, wasn't as fortunate, settling for the silver in the men's -55 kg kumite after falling to Prem Kumar Selvam of Malaysia, 1-6.
It was a tough loss for Montalvo, who had to go through Van Hai Nguyen of Vietnam, 3-0, John Maung of Myanmar, 3-0, before stunning Steves Yuthana Tep of Cambodia, 9-5, in the semis just to earn the finals berth.
John Enrico Vasquez also won a bronze medal in the men's individual kata, garnering a score of 23.66 to nose out, nosing out Vietnamese bet Truong An Pham's 22.4 for the final place in the podium.
Sarah Pangilinan also made it a double bronze for the Philippines, edging Myanmar's Thazin Aye in the women's individual kata. The Filipina got a score of 23.74 for her routine against the Burmese's score of 22.95.
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