FIERRE Afan and Maria Aisa Ratcliff led an inspired showing by Filipino grapplers in the 2023 United World Wrestling (UWW) United World Grappling Asian Championships over the weekend at the Beeline Arena in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Pinoy grapplers in United World Grappling Asian Championships
Afan showed tremendous poise and power to capture the gold in both junior grappling U-20 71 kg no gi event and the 71kg gi class.
He bested all four opponents in the U-20 no gi junior category, including Kazakhstan world champion Artem Khvan in the finals, 9-2, for his first gold, before securing another gold behind a 3-0 win in gi 71kg event over Meiirbek Yeskazyyev also of Kazakhstan.
Afan, 19, also captured two silver medals in the senior 71 kg class.
Ratcliff, 34, meanwhile, dominated the gi and no gi women’s seniors 53 kg class for two gold medals after sweeping all her four opponents in both brackets — highlighted by a final battle against Kazakhstan’s Alina Kaskinova whom she beat, 6-5, in the gi category.
In all, the Philippines won four golds, five silvers, and two bronzes to finish third overall among Asian countries.
Wrestling Association of the Philippines (WAP) President Alvin Aguilar expressed gratitude to his fighters for giving their best and making history especially Afan for beating a world champion in his first fight.
“Fierre [Afan] beat a world champion in his first fight. It’s a great performance for our athletes. We’re very happy with the results, but we will not be taking a break and will still be training in preparation for the upcoming World Championships,” Aguilar said.
“I believe the performance of our athletes in the tournament will inspire more athletes to continue their training to become world class level and win golds everytime they compete,” Aguilar added.
Aguilar’s two sons Lukie and Lucho, also took home two medals each. Lukie got silvers in no gi and gi boys’ U-17 competitions, while brother Lucho had a silver in no gi and a bronze medal in gi U-15 division.
Other medalists were Vince Ortiz (bronze in senior men’s gi 62 kg) and Michael Tabamo (bronze men’s grappling 62 kg).
Host Kazakhstan took home the overall championship followed by Iran at second.
Meanwhile, Lester del Rosario also participated in the 2023 UWW United World Grappling Asian Championships as the first ever Filipino licensed referee to hold both grappling and wrestling international.
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