NAGOYA-Kaila Napolis saved the day at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall on Friday to help soften the impact of Annie Ramirez’s failed attempt to defend her jiu-jitsu gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games.
Napolis climbed from the repechage and defeated Mongolia’s Tsagaanbileg Altangerel, 2-0, for the country’s only medal on Day 2 of jiu-jitsu competitions.
‘A bronze medal, it’s still an honor to win a bronze medal in a big competition,’ said Napolis, who contributed the women’s -52 kgs medal after Ramirez got the boot after absorbing a shocking round of 16 loss to Thailand’s Nuchanat Singchalad in the women’s -57 kgs division.
‘I’m happy I was able to pull the two points for this bronze medal,’ Napolis said.
Napolis’s teammates fell one after the other-Luigi Dy lost to Mongolia’s Davaadorj Munkhtur, 0-3, and Mark Constance Vergel bowed to Mongolia’s Shinezorig Bulgankhuu, 0-2, in the men’s-77 kgs round of 32 and Romeo John Alfred Raphael Arellano fell to United Arab Emirates’ Amaar Alhosani, 0-2, in the repachage of the -94 kgs category.
‘I was disappointed after my second match,’ said Napolis, who fell to Mongolia’s Mongoljin Gabaatar in the quarterfinals, 2-3. ‘So I told myself to fight back strong and go for the bronze.’
‘Thankfully I pulled it off and this gives me a great feeling, these are the Asian Games,’ she said.
Four more Filipinos-Vito Luisa Luzuriaga (men -85kg), Andrea Lois Lao (women -63kg), David Miranda (-85) and Alenxandria Luz Enriquez (-63kg) are competing in the last day of jiu-jitsu action Saturday.