NAGOYA — The Philippines added another historic milestone at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games on Tuesday as Rebecca Cyril Torres, Samantha Veguillas and Ysabielle Arrogante captured the women’s team kata bronze medal at Toyohashi Gymnasium.
The Filipinas defeated Southeast Asian rival Thailand, 4-1, to claim the country’s first Asian Games medal in the team kata event.
They opened their campaign with a 5-0 sweep of Cambodia’s Sreynuch Puthea, Oun Sreyda, and That Chhenghorng before falling to Iran, 0-5, in the semifinals.
Against Thailand, the Filipinas stayed composed and delivered the performance they had worked toward for years.
“Wala na kami inisip kung sino kalaban. Basta we claim sa amin ang bronze (We stopped thinking about who we were facing. We just focused on claiming the bronze for ourselves),” Arrogante said.
For Torres, the medal capped a long journey marked by setbacks and sacrifice.
“It has been a long journey. Dami hirap ng mga teammates. Marami losses over the years, pero perform lang, laban lang hanggang dulo
(It has been a long journey, and my teammates have gone through a lot. We’ve had many losses over the years, but we kept performing and fighting until the end),” she said.
The team also drew inspiration from news received a day before the competition that the Philippines had officially qualified for the Karate World Cup in Hangzhou this November.
“Na-inspire kami, kaya itutuloy pa namin ito, yung magandang resulta (That inspired us, so we want to keep going and build on this good result),” Arrogante said.
Head coach Sonny Montalvo credited the athletes for the sacrifices they made during their preparation, including spending long periods away from their families and temporarily putting their university studies on hold.
The trio also credited their coaches and officials for their support, including former Karate Pilipinas president Pocholo Veguillas, who died and was the father of current Karate Pilipinas president and Philippine delegation Chef de Mission Richard Lim.
Lim said the athletes’ commitment to training helped carry them through the demanding competition.
“I would say, though, yung sacrifice nila. I mean, the time that they dedicated to the training. Some of them quit school. Not to quit, but stopped temporarily just to concentrate for the Asian Games. Away from the family. Wala nang family time dahil more on the demand of the training
(It was their sacrifice and the time they dedicated to training. Some temporarily put their studies on hold to focus on the Asian Games and spent long periods away from their families),” Lim said.
The bronze continues karate’s medal run for the Philippines, following Junna Tsukii’s bronze in Jakarta in 2018 and Sakura Alforte’s bronze in Hangzhou in 2023.
Alforte, an individual kata specialist, missed this year’s Games after a new rule required all squad members to compete in the team event.
Lim said the latest medal could further encourage the Philippine karate community and inspire the rest of the delegation.
“Big boost sa karate. Nakita natin magaling ang Pilipino, tiwala lang. Maka-inspire din ito sa delegation dito. Dami pa lalaban (It is a big boost for Philippine karate. We’ve seen what Filipino athletes can do, so we just have to keep believing. I hope this also inspires the delegation because many more athletes still have competitions ahead),” he said.
The bronze also gave Team Philippines its third medal of the Games. PR/POC MEDIA POOL