In her younger days, Jomary Torres went from farming to taking odd jobs to make a living.
Then martial arts opened the horizons for her.
From planting rice and potatoes back home in Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte, serving as nanny when she traveled to Manila to make ends meet, the 29-year-old Torres is now winning fights including this one in the Asia and Oceania Sambo Championships where she struck gold yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Torres, who had forays in mixed martial arts after running into former Asian Games wushu champion Rene Catalan by chance, bested Dilbara Raimzhanova of Kyrgyzstan and Zhadya Paiyz of Kazakhstan to seize the women’s adult combat -50-kilogram mint before an appreciative weekend crowd.
It was one of the two golden feats by the country after Aumaegel Princess Cortez, another veteran internationalist, also came through by trouncing Kazakhstan’s Mervet Berdikhanova in the women’s adult combat -59kg final of this event presented by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Sydney Sy failed to make it a golden treble after she succumbed to Kazakhstan’s Arailym Abenova and settled for the silver in the women’s combat adult +80kg.
Going into the final day, the country hiked its medal haul to two golds, three silvers and five bronzes.