MULTI-ATHLETE Sydney Tancontian of Davao City is gearing for the upcoming World Youth and Juniors Sambo Championships slated October 11 to 15 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Tancontian, who started as a judo player with a 2017 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games bronze medal to her credit, will test her mettle in sambo that was officially recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) July this year.
She will don the colors of Pilipinas Sambo together with her father Paolo who will serve as her coach.
This will be Tancontian's second international stint following her silver finish in the Mongolian Sambo Federation Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia last May.
She, however, did not compete in the recently-concluded 18th Asian Games in Indonesia last August. The Dabawenya served as a technical official and the official emcee of the sambo tournament of the Asiad.
Paolo believes that her 18-year-old daughter could win medal in Georgia.
"Being one of the pioneers of Pilipinas Sambo, I have high hopes that Sydney will make history in sambo in the Philippines," Paolo, who is currently the secretary-general of Pilipinas Sambo, said.
The blackbelt judoka had been training at Holiday Gym and Spa for the past months and will go to Indonesia on September 25 for further training.
She also recently improved her judo skills in Kodokan Judo Institute as well as her wrestling techniques in Kawaguchi, Japan last month.