Pencak silat struck gold in Bahrain to give the Philippines its first medal in the Asian Youth Games.
Team Philippines got on the board early in the Asian Youth Games after pencak silat athletes nabbed the country’s first gold medal of the tournament in Sakhir, Bahrain on Monday afternoon.
Kram Airam Carpio bested Indonesia’s Qiken Dwi Tata Olifia, 33-19, in the final at the Exhibition World Bahrain Hall 1, to rule the Girls’ 51kg-55kg event. She was dominant in all of her four matches en route to the gold medal.
Carpio first began her bid with a 36-22 victory over Iran foe Nazaninfatemeh Kolosangiani in the Round of 16.
She then followed it up with a resounding masterclass against India’s Sakshi Thakur, 83-17.
In the medal rounds, Carpio beat Kazakhstan’s Aliyam Azizova in the semifinals to move on to the battle for gold where she punctuated her dominance with the win over Olifia.
Carpio is only the third gold medal winner for the Philippines in the Asian Youth Games.
Team Philippines thus finds itself on the medal board even before the opening ceremonies — with the event slated to be ushered in on Wednesday, October 22.
The Philippines is returning to the Asian Youth Games for the third time, competing in all three editions of the tournament. The last two editions were cancelled due to hosting issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The country has sent 141 athletes for 19 sports in the tournament.
The Philippines had five medals in the 2013 edition, while the country netted two podium finishes back in 2009.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.