Enriquez clinches 1st Phl gold

SANYA, China — Team Philippines sparkled on the first day of jiu-jitsu action with Alexandria Enriquez bagging the country’s first gold medal of the 6th Asian Beach Games with a 5-0 win over South Korea’s Yeonji Lee in the women’s 63kg final Thursday at the Sanya Bay Yuhai Club.

Enriquez, a US-based Filipina, flexed her might with a dominant victory that capped off a stellar run in her first appearance in a multi-sport event for the Philippines.

She started her campaign on a high in this resort city with back-to-back submission wins against host country China and Thailand. She then won via advantage in the semifinal against Shamma Alkalbani to secure her spot in the gold medal match.

Enriquez gushed on capturing the first mint for the country in the return of the Games after a 10-year hiatus.

“I feel so much pride and joy I mean first of all glory to God and and I was born in the Philippines and we immigrated to the States when I was a very young child six years old and to be able to come back you know and experience it as an adult and to be able to be a part of something much larger than I am is such a great honor,” she said.

Earlier in the day, Kaila Napolis put the Philippines on the board as she claimed the country’s first medal of the meet with a win against Kazakhstan’s Zhibek Kulumbetova in overtime in the battle for bronze.

Drama wrapped Napolis’ quest for a medal after the match went into overtime, when both athletes were still level at the end of five minutes. Though practicing caution, the Filipina was able to get an advantage in the sudden death period to repeat her feat from 2016, where she first finished on the podium in the Asian Beach Games.

For Napolis, it was a tough win that made the result worth it.

The other Filipina in the medal rounds, Andrea Lois Lao, failed to make it a three-medal haul on the opening day of hostilities after losing her bronze medal match against Thailand’s Orapa Senatham, 3-0.

On the other hand, other competitors Myron Mangubat, Maria Ysabel Laureta and Santino Luis Luzuriaga were eliminated in their first round matches.