Karatekas Tsukii, Lim sweep way to gold medal round

MANILA, Philippines – World Championship veterans Junna Tsukii and Jamie Lim lived up to billing as they won all of their three matches Tuesday to barge into the gold medal round of the 2021 Asian Karate Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Tsukii, ranked No. 4 in the world and No. 2 in Asia, trounced South Korea’s Jung Ji Young, 4-1; Hong Kong’s Tsang Yee Ting, 9-0; and the United Arab Emirates’ Hawraa Al Ajmi, 3-2; to set up a finals showdown with Kazakhstan’s Moldir Zhangbyrbay in the women’s -50-kilogram division.

For her part, Lim, the best Asian in the World Championship in Dubai last month, eked out pulsating wins over Taipei’s Ku Chih-Ling, 5-4; Kyrgyzstan’s Kymbat Toitonova, 1-0; and Jordan’s Joud Aldrous, 1-0, to arrange a gold duel with UAE’s Sarah Alameri in the women’s -61kg class.

The finals are set Wednesday.

The efforts of Tsukii and Lim, whose trip is being bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), ensured the country of at least two more silver medals to its initial haul of three bronze medals courtesy of Remon Misu (women’s Under-21 -61kg kumite), John Enrique Vasquez (men’s individual kata) and Sakura Alforte (women’s individual kata).