Figueroa gives Pinoys 1st gold

BANGKOK – Unheralded jin Jeffrey Figueroa gave Team Philippines its first gold medal in the first Asian Martial Arts Games late Tuesday at the Indoor Stadium Huamark here.

The 23-year old Figueroa crushed Rezai Hasan of Afghanistan, 10-7, in the finals of the men’s bantamweight category to propel the Filipino jins to their first Asian gold medal since Ali Atienza won a continental title in the ’90s.

Marlon Avenido and Karla Jane Alava were also impressive as they won a silver and a bronze medal to put the Nationals in ninth spot of this 41-nation tourney with a total haul of one gold, two silver and two bronze medals behind leaders Korea, Kazakhstan and Japan.

Avenido bowed to Gyu Jin Lee of Korea, 2-5, to yield the gold medal in the men’s welterweight category while Alava lost to Iwen Kuan of Taipei, 0-1, to settle for the bronze medal in the women’s bantamweight category.

Camille Manalo wrapped up Team Philippines’ campaign in taekwondo with a sorry 0-7 loss to a taller, stronger Hua Zhang of China in the quarterfinals of the women’s lightweight category.

Aside from Manalo, John Paul Lizardo (men’s finweight), Alex Briones (men’s heavyweight) and Crizobelle Vargas (women’s finweight) also bombed out right on their first matches.

But Figueroa’s golden finish was enough to offset their sluggish performance.

After frustrating Muaadh Najiahmed of Yemen, 7-3, in the quarterfinals, Figueroa escaped the bitter challenge thrown by hometown bet and 2007 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Nattapong Tewawetchapong, 3-2, to book a championship showdown with the shadowy Afghan jin.