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Philippines
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Rising jiu-jitsu star delivers PH’s 1st gold

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PHNOM PENH—Rising jiu-jitsu fighter Kaila Napolis stood up, foiled a knee bar and scored a vengeful 2-0 upset win against one of Cambodia’s brightest hopes in Jessa Khan to win the Philippines’ first gold medal in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games here.

Napolis’ move frustrated Khan’s efforts to have her rival’s legs locked out behind her knee, allowing the 25-year-old Filipina to claim the women’s 49-kg ne-waza gold on Thursday at the OCIC Wedding Center at the Chroy Changvar District.

Kaila Napolis

“Parang talo na kasi, 0-0. I tried my best to get a 2-0 score,” said Napolis, who waited four years to get back at Khan, considered Cambodia’s best jiu-jitsu athlete following her recent decision to turn professional.

Khan, who defeated Napolis in the 2019 SEA Games in Manila, could not get a firm grip on her attack when the referee signalled a win in favor of the Filipina when the time was up.

“Natalo ako nu’ng 2019. Ang saya na nabawian ko siya sa bansa niya,” said Napolis, who swept her four-match, round-robin encounter.

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A Cambodian-Mexican-American ju-jitsu practitioner, Khan was unbeaten before she confronted Napolis on the mat. She is considered a heroine here after winning Cambodia’s first-ever gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games via the sport of jiu-jitsu.

Napolis, who is coached by Allan Co, started her campaign with 50-0 beating of Vietnam’s Thi Huyen Dang, followed by a 3-0 win over Thailand’s Nuchanat Singchalad, and a 50-0 rout of Singapore’s May Yong Teh.

“Sobrang saya ko po, dahil nandiyan silang lahat,” Napolis, unmindful of the big, boisterous crowd cheering for Khan.

Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann had the wonderful privilege of awarding the country its first gold medalist in his first official major international function as chairman of the government sports body.

“I had the privilege of being in the medal ceremony for our first gold medal winner, Kaila. Congratulations once again,” Bachmann said. “I also want to congratulate Harvey and Karl for bringing in the first medal of Team Philippines. It is such a thrill to start counting medals and see how the hard work of our athletes are translating into these victories. Job well done!”

For his part, POC president Rep. Abraham Tolentino said: “One big congratulations for one of our female athletes breaking the ice for Team Philippines in these SEA Games.”

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