BEMEDALED multi-athlete Chino Sy Tancontian of Davao City fell short of the gold medal but salvaged two silvers in the Southeast Asian Junior and Cadet Wrestling Championships that closed over the weekend in Thailand.
Tancontian, who plays for the Wrestling Association of the Philippines (WAP), won silvers in freestyle and Greco Roman events.
In the freestyle class, Tancontian posted three straight wins over his rivals from Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar before bowing to an Indonesian player.
Tancontian, meanwhile, subdued his two Thai and Vietnamese opponents in the Greco Roman eliminations but failed to keep momentum, losing his championship match again, this time opposite a Thai bet.
"The experience was great po. I met new people and learned more about wrestling," the homebound Tancontian said in a Facebook chat with SunStar Davao.
Though it has similar principles to his accustomed sport which is judo, Tancontian said there are so many things he still needs to learn about wrestling.
"Kailangan ko pa po pala mas lumakas and mas mag-practice para mauwi ang gold medal kasi kulang pa po talaga ako sa experience in wrestling compared to my opponents sa Thailand," the national team member said.
After the championships, he learned that he still needs to improve his speed and strength to enable to prevail in international events.
Undergoing weights program here will not be enough, according to him, thus, he needs to really gain more exposure in different wrestling competitions.
"Hindi ko pa po alam what's next for me but whatever opportunity comes my way, I will grab it," Tancontian said.