From wushu to boxing, to vovinam, this Kalinga Apayao warrior can take all comers.
Hergie Bacyadan finally nailed her first internationally flavored gold medal following her dominant performance in the World Vovinam Championship in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Bacyadan, a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, hacked out a shutout 10-0 win over Mariana Abdeenko of Russia in the final of the -66kg combat category for the gold medal that had eluded her in the Cambodia Southeast Asian Games last May.
Vovinam, which originated from Vietnam, is a combat sport, with elements from different martial arts, like kicks from tae kwon do, grapples from hop kido, and throws from Judo.
It can be recalled that Bacyadan became the receiving end of dubious officiating in the vovinam competition after she lost via raffle and settled for the silver, following a double overtime win that ended in a draw.
Team Philippines’ coaches also protested against the judges’ failure to give Bacyadan precious points in the final minute that could have given her an outright victory.
In the world tourney on Friday night, Bacyadan poured it all, beginning with an emphatic win over Sophy Sok of Cambodia, before the blanking of Avdeenko in the battle for gold.
“Sulit pagod, sakripisyo at gutom,” said Bacyadan, who was also an Asian boxing silver medalist. She took up wushu as her first combat sport.
“Maraming salamat sa lahat ng mga walang sawa nagtiwala at sumuporta sakin. Hindi ko makukuha itong gold kung wala kayo,” she added.
Bacyadan thus became the country’s first vovinam world champion.
She also dedicated her victory to her partner as a wedding anniversary gift.
“Lalo na sa misis ko na inspirasyon ko, para sa iyo ito, wedding anniversary gift ko na sayo tong iuuwi ko na ginto,” she said.