The Philippines capped its campaign with a third gold medal as Aislinn Agnes Yap led the host country's strong finish in the 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo Championships presented by the Philippine Sports Commission over the weekend.
Competing before an energized home crowd at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Yap edged Kazakhstan's Zamzagul Faizollanova, 1-0, to retain the women's 80-kilogram combat sambo title.
Yap secured the decisive takedown midway through the match against the five-time Kazakhstan national champion. Faizollanova's camp protested the ruling, but technical officials upheld the result after reviewing the video.
Yap's victory gave the Philippines its third gold after national team standouts Jomary Torres and Aumagel Princess Cortez captured their respective titles the previous night in the tournament held under the auspices of the National Sports Tourism Interagency Committee led by PSC Chairman Patrick Gregorio.
World No. 7 Torres delivered one of the tournament's most dramatic finishes, knocking out Kazakhstan's Zhadyra Paiyz with a perfectly timed right roundhouse kick to the head just seconds into the women's 50-kilogram combat sambo final.
After Paiyz remained on her knees and appeared dazed, the referee stopped the bout and awarded Torres the gold via an 8-0 technical victory.
Torres immediately checked on her opponent, kneeling beside the fallen Kazakh fighter in a gesture of sportsmanship.
Inspired by Torres' performance, Cortez dominated another Kazakhstani, Mervet Berdhinakova, 9-2, to claim the women's 59-kilogram combat sambo crown.
The victories helped offset Dabawenya Sydney Sy Tancontian's 6-0 loss to longtime rival and former world champion Arailym Abenova of Kazakhstan in the women's +80-kilogram combat sambo division.
The Philippines earned its third silver medal through national team newcomer Jasmaine Henryk Ching, who lost by submission to Kazakhstan's Gulo Almukhanbetova in the women's -54-kilogram sport sambo final.
The host nation finished with three gold, three silver, and eight bronze medals, surpassing last year's two-gold haul from Yap and Sy-Tancontian. The Philippines placed fifth overall among 22 participating countries in the tournament organized by the Pilipinas Sambo Federation Inc.
"Coach Jerry (Legaspi) and I planned to rely on my punches, but I told myself my opponent was smaller than me, so I decided to try the kick. It landed," said Torres, a native of Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte.
"I worked incredibly hard for this victory, so winning the gold feels amazing," added the 30-year-old former mixed martial arts fighter, the most experienced member of the national team.
"Torres has come full circle, and she deserves this gold medal," national team head coach Ace Larida said. "She is the complete package and deserves that victory."
Sy admitted she struggled to hide her disappointment after settling for silver.
"I really, really wanted to win, but it was not my day," Sy said through tears while being comforted by her brother, Chino.
"But I am proud of how the national team performed because we won three gold medals and showed how much our sport has grown from almost nothing," added Sy, who helped organize the competition while balancing limited training as his father, Pilipinas Sambo Federation president Paolo Tancontian, recovered from illness.
Tancontian praised both the tournament's organization and the national team's performance.
"We proved once again that we belong among the best in Asia and in the world," Tancontian said. "I am very happy with the outcome."
"Now that we've hosted the Asia-Oceania Championships, our next goal is the World Championships."
