Philippine karate sustains medal streak

NAGOYA – The Philippine karate team kept its tradition of churning out medals in the Asian Games.

Rebecca Cyril Torres, Samantha Veguillas and Ysabelle Arrogante made sure of that yesterday, clinching the women’s team kata bronze at the Toyohashi Gymnasium here – the country’s first-ever medal in the team kata event in Asiad history.

The trio beat Southeast Asian rival Thailand – Ramitar Terananon, Monsicha Sakulrattanatara and Phatcharin Plangplai – 4-1 in the bronze-medal match to keep the streak alive for Philippine karate.

It has now produced three straight bronzes in the Asian Games – starting with Junna Tsukii in Jakarta 2018 and Sakura Alforte in Hangzhou 2023, and now Torres, Veguillas and Arrogante in Aichi-Nagoya 2026.

Alforte, an individual kata specialist, actually missed this year’s Asiad due to a new ruling requiring all squad members to compete in the team event.

The path was far from easy.

The Filipinas opened with a flawless 5-0 sweep of Cambodia’s Sreynuch Puthea, Oun Sreyda and That Chhenghorng, then absorbed a 0-5 loss to powerhouse Iran in the semifinals.

They bounced back when it mattered most.

“Wala na kami inisip kung sino kalaban,” said Arrogante. “Basta we claim sa amin ang bronze.”

“It has been a long journey. Dami hirap ng mga teammates,” said an emotional Torres. “Marami losses over the years, pero perform lang, laban lang hanggang dulo.”

The girls drew extra inspiration after learning just a day earlier that the Philippines officially qualified for the Karate World Cup this November in Hangzhou.

“Na-inspire kami, kaya itutuloy pa namin ito, yung magandang resulta,” Arrogante added.

Head coach Sonny Montalvo lauded his athletes for their immense dedication – leaving their families and putting their university studies on hold just to train.