XANDER Alipio, bagged a silver medal, bowing to Peru’s Jesus Herreras Montalvo in the men’s 65kg division in the 11th IWUF Sanda World Cup in Macau, China.
Alipio secured a bronze in the 60kg class at last year’s World Championships.
Four other Filipino bets bagged a bronze medal each after losing to their semifinal foes.
It was a tough opening round for the rest of the national squad, starting with Jenifer Kilapio.
The lone female fighter on the Philippine roster fell, 2-0, to reigning Wushu Asia Cup champion Aparna Dahiya of India in the women’s 48kg division.
In the men’s 52kg division, World Championships bronze medalist Russel Diaz suffered a similar 2-0 defeat against China’s Ou Jiaming.
Defending men’s 56kg champion Carlos Baylon Jr. also saw his title retention bid cut short.
Baylon dropped a 2-0 decision to a familiar foe, the taller Arsen Umalatov.
The bout was a rematch of last year’s Wushu World Championships final in Brazil, where Umalatov also bested the Filipino fighter.
Rounding out the semifinal losses, 2025 World Championships bronze medalist Gideon Fred Padua bowed out to reigning champion Zunlong Wang of China in the men’s 60kg division.
