Lopez strikes wrestling gold

Yani Alexii Lopez displayed her grappling prowess under the most challenging circumstances as she powered the national team to a second-place finish in the 2026 United World Wrestling Asian & Oceania Grappling Championships in Da Nang, Vietnam recently.

The 16-year-old Lopez proved that she can compete at a higher weight class after emerging victorious in the women’s 57-kilogram class — three divisions higher than the 44-kg division where she used to fight in.

She made a lot of heads turn as she defeated Alison Mae Nicolson of Malaysia in the final, 2-1, to capture the gold medal following a 1-0 victory over Malaysian Liyanne Hedger in the semifinals.

“Jumping three divisions from 44 kgs to 57 kgs was an unexpected challenge, and I am blessed to take the top spot on the podium,” Lopez said.

Aside from Lopez, also winning are Charlie Ratcliff in the men’s 56-kg class, Travis Ratcliff in the men’s 62-kg category, Abe Del Rosario in the men’s 57-kg event, and Denzel Alipio in the men’s 62-kg division.

Meanwhile, Lucas Aguilar and Nathaniel Nama settled for the silver medal in the men’s 66-kg and men’s 63-kg events while Alo Turingan (men’s 73-kg class), Lucian Salud (men’s 76-kg class) and Joaquin Marte (men’s 66-kg class) chipped in bronze medals to give the Filipinos the second overall spot in the team standings behind Kazakhstan.