MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines' Asian Games golden girl Meggie Ochoa admitted having to power through all the pain and hurt.
Struggling with a flu a day before her matches and a hip injury in the semifinals, the ju-jitsu fighter hurdled all these and took home the Philippines’ second gold medal in the 19th Asiad.
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A video posted by One Sports’ Paolo del Rosario on Facebook showed Ochoa crying as she met members of the media after her glorious feat.
“It was really overwhelming. A lot happened on my way here [to the gold medal win.] Until yesterday, I had the flu. So, I thought I would not be able to fight. I had to drink a lot of medicine,” Ochoa told reporters in Filipino.
“Then, in the semifinals, I pulled my hip. It hurt,” she added.
She faced and defeated Thailand’s Pechrada Tan in the semifinals to advance to the gold medal match against UAE’s Balqees Abdulla.
The two started their bout strong, but the Filipina scored an advantage early on after securing a mount.
Abdulla tried to get out of the position, but Ochoa was just too strong for her.
She even attempted some submission holds against the Filipina, but it did not pan out as the latter secured the gold.
“I just told myself I will give it my all. Even if I could not walk anymore, I will give everything,” Ochoa said.
The Filipina, who won the women’s ne-waza system -48 kilogram division in the Asian Championships this year, said she was just praying the whole time.
“This is different, the Asian Games. It is very important for the country. And, it is a big deal that I was able to do it for the Lord, because He humbled me by allowing me to experience adversity so I will depend on Him,” the gold medalist shared.
“And then, I just depended on Him. The whole time, I was just praying.”
“This is also for all the people who helped me get here.”
The Philippines currently has two golds, one silver and 10 bronze medals.