She won against no less than the hometown bet.
Jenna Kaila Napolis posted on her Instagram Stories what she ate for breakfast on Thursday morning: eggs. fried rice, soup and a side of Nutella. It turns, it was a breakfast of champions.
Later in the day, Napolis fought her way to a gold medal, securing in the process the Philippines’ first gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia. Making Napolis' golden conquest sweeter was the way she did it: beating old rival and hometown ace Jessa Khan at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center.
Napolis outclassed her rival, 2-0, in the women’s ne-waza 52kg category on Thursday for a victory four years in the making.
The two are familiar foes, figuring in the finals of the 49kg weight class in 2019 in Manila, where the Filipina fighter settled for a silver mint.
The 22-year-old admitted she wanted to win it all this time.
Napolis wanted to win so bad she swept all her four assignments, also outclassing Thailand's Nuchanat Singchalad and Vietnam's Thi Huyen Dang on her road to the gold medal.
“It was surreal. I still couldn’t believe I won,” said Napolis, who kicked off her campaign with a 50-0 win against Singapore’s May Yong The.
But Napolis saved her best for last against Khan, whom she beat right at her home soil.
Consider it a favor returned. And, tomorrow, Napolis will be eating breakfast as a champion. .
(MDB)