BRONZE LINING: Adriano medal saves day as Team Phl stumbles

Karate provided a silver lining for a Filipino contingent that struggled across nearly all fronts — from gymnastics to fencing to weightlifting — on the fourth day of the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya on Wednesday.

Marie June Adriano was the lone bright spot for the Filipinos as she overcame Ya-chi Chung of Chinese Taipei, 10-3, to secure the bronze medal in the women’s kumite -50kg event in the karate competition.

The 22-year-old Adriano, an Asian Games debutant, admitted that she was extra motivated to beat Chung after dropping their previous two encounters, eager to deliver for a Filipino squad still searching for its first gold medal.

“It was the third time we faced each other. I just trusted the techniques I trained with,” said Adriano, a Human Kinetics student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

“It means so much to me. As a first-timer, the pressure was definitely intense. I am overjoyed to have been selected and deliver a medal for the Philippines.”

The gold medal has been very elusive for the Filipinos. After clinching a bronze in soft tennis followed by another bronze and a silver in mixed martial arts, the production had gotten slow, with setbacks on various fronts, like boxing, weightlifting, fencing and gymnastics.

After the shocking loss of Olympian Aira Villegas to Sakshi Chaudhary of India in the Round of 32 of the women’s 51-kilogram event on Tuesday, Olympians Samantha Catantan of fencing and Carlos Yulo of gymnastics as well as rising star Rosegie Ramos followed her to the exit as they lost in their respective events.

Catantan made an early exit as she bowed to Park Jihee of South Korea, 10-15, in the quarterfinals of the women’s individual foil event at the Aichi Sky Expo.

The 24-year-old Penn State University standout said she will use the defeat as motivation for the upcoming Olympic qualifying events for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“I’m really proud of how I fenced today. Up to the end, I did not give up. So I’m very proud of that. Unfortunately, it’s sports; it could go either way,” Catantan said.

“One of my main goals for this tournament is to see where I’m at currently and work after to be better and to hopefully get better results for the upcoming Olympic qualifying season. Every competition, the key takeaway is to never give up, aim for better results, and work harder.”

The same goes for Yulo, who skippered the squad composed of his younger brother Eldrew, Miguel Besana, Ace de Leon and Zachary Nuñez that finished sixth in the team all-around final with 227.359 points at Rainbow Hall inside the Nagoya General Gymnasium.

Powerhouse China emerged as men’s team champion with 255.095 points while host Japan fell short and settled for silver with 253.826 points with Chinese Taipei clinching the bronze with 239.896.

Yulo and Eldrew, however, still have a chance to turn things around as they return to action in the men’s floor exercise final on Thursday.

Ramos, meanwhile, settled for fourth in the women’s 53kg category after posting a total lift of 203 kilograms at the Nagoya City Trade and Industry Center.

North Korea’s Kang Hyon Gyong ruled the event with 223kg, followed by China’s Zhao Jinlan with 218kg and Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao with 214kg.

Aside from Yulo, the Philippines will get another shot at the podium when two-time Olympic swimmer Kayla Sanchez competes in the women’s 50-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Thursday.