TOYOHASHI CITY, Japan — Marie June Adriano turned a familiar opponent into a breakthrough moment Wednesday, beating Chinese Taipei’s Ya-chi Chung, 10-3, to win bronze in the women’s kumite -50-kilogram division at the 20th Asian Games.
The 22-year-old Filipino karateka, competing in her first Asian Games, recovered from a narrow semifinal loss to Hong Kong’s Tsang Yee Ting to secure her first medal on the continental stage. Her bronze gave the Philippines its second karate medal of the Games and fifth overall.
Adriano opened her campaign with a 4-3 win over Cambodia’s Srey Phea Chonn and followed it with a 4-0 victory over South Korea’s Yang Yewon. She then came within one point of reaching the gold-medal bout, losing to Tsang, 5-4, in the semifinals.
She faced Chung again in the bronze-medal bout — an opponent she had lost to in their previous two meetings.
“Pangatlong beses na po naming nagharap (It was our third time facing each other),” Adriano said.
This time, Adriano made the adjustments count.
The Human Kinetics student at Polytechnic University of the Philippines said she trusted the techniques she had prepared during training instead of dwelling on their previous results.
“Mas nagtiwala po ako sa technique ko, sa kung ano yung baon ko, kung ano yung trinain ko para sa competition na ito ( (I trusted my technique more — what I had prepared and trained for this competition),” she said.
Her coach also reminded her to stay in the middle and wait for the right moment to attack.
“Sa atin na ito, sa amin na ito. Kailangan ko lang mag-work (This is ours. It belongs to us. I just needed to do the work),” Adriano recalled.
That approach helped Adriano stay composed and pull away from Chung to claim the bronze.
For the native of Llanera, Nueva Ecija, the medal capped a breakthrough Asian Games debut.
“Super laking bagay niya para sa akin. As a first-timer, talagang yung pressure, nandoon lahat (It means so much to me. As a first-timer, the pressure was really there),” Adriano said. “Sobrang happy po ako na isa ako sa napili at nakapagbigay ako ng medalya para sa Pilipinas ( I’m extremely happy to have been chosen and to have won a medal for the Philippines).
The medal also continues Adriano’s rise on the international stage. At the Asian Senior Karate Championships in Bali in June, she finished fifth in the women’s -50kg kumite, while Chung took bronze. Tsang, whom Adriano faced in the semifinals here, won that Asian championship.
Adriano’s bronze came a day after the Philippine women’s kata team of Samantha Emmanuelle Veguillas, Ysabielle Arrogante and Rebecca Cyril Torres also won bronze. The trio defeated Thailand, 4-1, in the bronze-medal match after losing to Iran in the semifinals.
The back-to-back medals marked a strong showing for Philippine karate at the Games, with Adriano becoming the latest Filipino karateka to reach the podium. PSC MEDIA POOL PR
