Phl claims two ju-jitsu golds in Asian Beach tilt

PHUKET, Thailand – The Philippines captured two gold medals in ju-jitsu Thursday night, offering an auspicious outlook for the country at the start of the 4th Asian Beach Games here.

 Filipino-Japanese Maybelline Masuda and Annie Ramirez both finished their opponents in decisive fashion to nail the first pair of golds for the Philippines in the biennial continental games.

Masuda, a former Brazilian ju-jitsu world champion, immediately swept Le Thu Trang of Vietnam and gained ground control throughout the six-minute duel for a 15-0 victory in the women’s -50kg.

The win was as spectacular as the golden effort of the 23-year-old Ramirez, who, despite being pinned underneath by Onanong Saengsirichok of Thailand in the 60kg finale, was able to submit her rival with a cutting arm bar before time expired to the dismay of the hometown crowd at Patong Central Beach.

A nine-time Southeast Asian Games judo champion, Baylon earlier pocketed a bronze medal in men’s ju-jitsu -80kg.