Sanya: Team Philippines glittered like gold on the first day of jiu-jitsu action with Alexandria Enriquez clinching the country's first gold medal of the 6th Asian Beach Games with a 5-0 win over South Korea's Yeonji Lee in the women's 63kg final Thursday at the Sanya Bay Yuhai Club here. Enriquez, a US-based Filipina, flexed her might against her foe with a dominant victory that capped off a stellar run in her first appearance in a multi-sport event for the Philippines.
According to Philippines News Agency, Enriquez started her campaign on a high note in this resort city with back-to-back submission wins against host country China and Thailand. She then won via advantage in the semifinal against Shamma Alkalbani to nab her spot in the gold medal match. Enriquez expressed pride and joy in capturing the first medal for the country in the return of the Games after a 10-year hiatus, sharing her experience of representing the Philippines as both an honor and a significant personal journey.
Earlier in the day, Kaila Napolis put the Philippines on the board as she claimed the country's first medal of the meet with a win against Kazakhstan's Zhibek Kulumbetova in overtime in the battle for bronze. Drama wrapped Napolis' quest for a medal after the match went into overtime, when both athletes were still level at the end of five minutes. Despite caution, the Filipina was able to gain an advantage in the sudden-death period to repeat her 2016 feat, when she first finished on the podium at the Asian Beach Games.
For Napolis, it was a tough win that made the result worth it. She described the tension and pressure of the match, noting the importance of not making mistakes during overtime, where the first to gain an advantage would secure victory. Her comments highlighted the intense competition and the satisfaction of securing a medal.
The other Filipina in the medal rounds, Andrea Lois Lao, did not manage to make it a three-medal haul on the opening day of hostilities after losing her bronze medal match against Thailand's Orapa Senatham, 3-0. Meanwhile, other competitors Myron Mangubat, Maria Ysabel Laureta, and Santino Luis Luzuriaga were eliminated in their first-round matches.
