ASIAN GAMES: PH karate squad wins kata bronze

MANILA – The Philippine karate squad bagged the bronze medal in the women's kata team event Tuesday at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.

The team of Samantha Veguillas, Rebecca Cyril Torres and Ysabelle Arrogante conquered Thailand’s Ramitar Terananon, Monsicha Sakulrattanatara and Phatcharin Plangplai, 4-1, at Toyohashi Gymnasium.

The Filipinos clobbered Cambodians Sreynuch Puthea, Oun Sreyda and That Chhenghorng, 5-0, but fell to the Iranians, 0-5, in the semifinals.

“We didn't think about who our opponents were. We just claimed the bronze for ourselves," Arrogante said in a news release.

“It has been a long journey. My teammates and I have been through so much hardship. There were many losses over the years, but we just kept performing and fighting until the very end," Torres added.

A day before the event, the team learned that the Philippines has qualified for the Karate World Cup this November in Hangzhou, China.

"We were inspired, so we will keep this going -- the positive results,” Arrogante said.

Head coach Sonny Montalvo commended his athletes for their immense dedication.

“A big boost for karate. We’ve seen that Filipinos are talented. We just need to have confidence. This will also inspire the delegation here. There are still many others set to compete,” he said.

The Philippines also took home two karate bronze medals from past Asian Games coming from Filipino-Japanese Junna Tsukii (Jakarta 2018) and Sakura Alforte (Hangzhou 2023).

Alforte, an individual kata specialist, missed this year's Asiad due to a new ruling requiring all squad members to compete in the team event. (PNA)