Philippine sambo athletes return to the big stage as they compete in the 85th World Sambo Championships slated on November 10 to 12 in Yerevan, Armenia.
Sambo was not held in the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia and the recent Asian Games in China and Pilipinas Sambo Federation president Paolo Tancontian hopes that the three-team Filipino squad will make noise again in this combat sport from Russia.
Making the team are the stellar Sy-Tancontian siblings Chino and Sydney and Phnom Penh SEA Games’ kun bokator bronze medalist Godwin Langbayan.
“Ako po ay umaasa na makakatulong ang mga natutunan nila para sa campaign nila ngayon,” said Paolo Tancontian. “Mataas ang pag-asa natin na mag-podium finish sila, we just hope na maganda ang maging pairing ng mga athletes natin for a good start.”
Sydney will compete in the women’s sports sambo +80 kg, Chino in the men’s sport sambo -98 kg, while Langbayan, a professional MMA fighter, sees action in the men’s combat sambo -70 kg.
The three are coming off intensive training in Japan along with their teammates in the national squad.
Part of their buildup was technical training with Sensei Tanaka Itakusu Sensei at the Kawaguchi Wrestling and SAMBO Sports Center; Brazilian jiu-jitsu drills at the Imanary Jiujitsu Academy and Fight Team Alliance, and training with judo superstars Hifumi and Uta Abe, and Naohisa Takato at Nippon Sports Science.
Langbayan emerged as the silver medal winner in Kuhn Bokator, a martial art sport in Cambodia, last SEA Games in May, while the Sy siblings were gold medalists in the Korea Open Sambo Championships last September.
Sydney is the highest-rated sambo athlete in the country with her bronze medal finish in the 2020 World Sambo Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia.
She beat Spain’s Evadne Huecas in the battle for bronze, while Russian bet Olga Artoshina and Ukraine’s Vasylyna Kyrychenko claimed the gold and silver, respectively.
Last year, Sydney topped her category in the Asian Sambo Championships held in Lebanon.
The three athletes are already in Armenia two-weeks before the tournament to acclimatize themselves to the cold weather.
“Sambo is a growing martial art sport and I’m very thankful to the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee for their full support,” said Paolo Tancontian.