DAVAO City's very own Sydney Sy Tancontian targets to win a gold medal when she competes in her final juniors division stint in the World Sambo Championship bubble on November 5 to 8, 2020 in Novi Sad, Serbia.
The 20-year-old Dabawenya, who won four bronze medals in different world sambo competitions in the past, said, "I'm hoping po na ngayong last year ko sa juniors division, I will be able to achieve a gold medal. Ngayon po kasi medyo bumabalik na po yung kundisyon and slowly naglo-lose weight po ako kasi I gained a lot during the MGCQ phase (I'm hoping to win a gold medal since this will be my last year in the juniors division. I am doing better now that I have been losing weight since I gained a lot during the modified general community quarantine)."
It can be recalled that Tancontian, who also won a bronze in women's kurash event of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2019, collected bronzes in the World Youth and Juniors Sambo Championships 2019 at the Sports Complex Uzbekistan; 2019 Chungju World Martial Arts Masterships in Chungju, South Korea in September 2019; World Sambo Championships 2018 in Bucharest, Romania; and in the 2019 Sambo World Cup Kharlapiev Memorial Competition in Moscow, Russia in March 2019.
She said she's on track of her training preparations even before organizers announced that the world championship will push through.
"Medyo may struggle lang kasi parang nakatraining `bubble' rin ako kaya ang sparring partner ko po is si Tito Alas and si Papa lang. Kasi kahit kami natatakot pag nag-invite pa kami ng ibang player, mas magiging mataas yung risk of exposure naming lahat. Pero ang kagandandahan naman po, natututukan nila ako sa training and nababalikan ko yung paano kami nagsimula dati na kami-kami lang rin (It's quite a struggle thought that I was also in a training bubble that's why my sparring partners were my Tito Alas and my father. We fear inviting other players as it would increase our risk of exposure of the coronavirus. The good thing is that they have focused more on my training and I remember the good old days when we first started)," she said in a Facebook interview.
She usually jogs in the mornings when the weather is good but when it rains, she just stays home and do cardio exercises. She takes online classes from 7 a.m. to 12 noon then she rests in the afternoon. Tancontian, who is currently based in Davao City, is a Sports Wellness and Management sophomore at the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
She added, "Yes po, di ko po papalampasin itong chance na makapag-compete ulit kasi sa panahon po ngayon, napakablessed ko na kasi may competition pa ako na pinaghahandaan para rin ma-evaluate namin kung ano pa mga kailangan kong iimprove. Kasi kahit papano po, namomotivate ako to get back in shape kasi may nilolook forward po akong laro (I will not waste this chance to compete again amid the pandemic. It is a blessing to have a competition that I can look forward to so I can evaluate areas I need to improve and also motivate me to get back in shape)."
Tancontian also said that she is not afraid of going to Serbia for the competition as the country only has few Covid-19 cases. She has also taken good care of herself all these months while at home. She takes vitamins to boost her immune system and she does not leave their home unless there is something urgent she needs to do.
She is scheduled to take a swab test on November 2. She is expected to leave for Serbia on November 3.