CHINO Sy Tancontian of Davao City salvaged a bronze medal in the junior -81 kilograms division of the International Judo Federation (IJF)-sanctioned Asian Cup Cadets and Junior Championships 2019 at the Tin Shui Wai Sports Ground in Hong Kong last Sunday.
Tancontian, an 18-year-old Sports Science college freshman student at the University of Santo Tomas, beat Do U Kim of South Korea via arm lock or juji gatame that pushed the latter to tap, thus, wrapping up their match.
However, the Dabawenyo ace lost to another Korean judoka, Hwanhui Lee via two wazari by sionage in his second assignment.
In the battle for bronze, six-footer Tancontian subdued Taehyeon Kim of South Korea in 10 seconds through uchi-mata or inner thigh throw. Lee, for his part, captured the gold.
"Fulfilling po sobra hehehe kasi po nakasabayan ko at nakapanalo po kahit papano ng medal against one of the top junior players around the world po. It wasn't just Asia po may New Zealand rin po, USA, Fiji Island and Guam," he said in a Facebook interview with SunStar Davao Monday, July 15.
He said playing against the Koreans was also insightful. "Iba't-iba po playing style nila po eh pero yung second na nakalaro ko po, may na gain po ako kasi po nachecheck ko po yung kung ano mga kulang ko like the stance, technique at approach po," he said.
Before the competition, Tancontian and the rest of the participants joined the three-day international training camp.
He added that having sparred with players from different countries during the camp also helped him improve his own style.
Meanwhile, he is just waiting for his next training schedule with the Pilipinas sambo national team. He won a gold medal in the 2nd Southeast Asia Sambo Championships at the Aston Tropicana, Kota Bandung, Indonesia last month.