Marie June Adriano wasn’t even sure she would make it to the Asian Games.
On Wednesday, the 22-year-old karateka made the most of the opportunity, beating Chinese Taipei’s Chung Ya-chi, 10-3, to win the bronze medal in the women’s kumite -50-kilogram division.
The victory gave the Philippines its fifth medal of the Games and capped an impressive Asian Games debut for Adriano, who admitted that simply earning a spot on the national team had been a challenge.
‘My journey to compete here was very difficult because there was no assurance that I would be selected,’ Adriano said.
‘I was able to prove that I’m worthy of being here after contributing a medal for our country. This is my first Asian Games and, as a young athlete, this is quite overwhelming.’
Adriano became the latest member of the Philippine karate team to reach the podium after Rebecca Cyril Torres, Ysabielle Arrogante and Samantha Emmanuelle Veguillas won a medal in the women’s team kata a day earlier.
Adriano opened her campaign with a 4-3 victory over Cambodia’s Srey Phea Chonn before shutting out South Korea’s Yang Ye-won, 4-0, in the quarterfinals.
She came close to reaching the final, losing to Hong Kong’s Tsang Yee Ting, 5-4, in the semifinals.
The narrow defeat sent Adriano into the bronze-medal match against Chung, where she quickly bounced back and won by seven points.
‘This is really a big thing for me. As a first-timer, the pressure was really great,’ Adriano said.
But she said the advice she received before the match was simple: Enjoy the experience.
‘I still cannot believe it,’ Adriano told a local TV broadcast in Filipino. ‘They told me to just enjoy it because this is my first time. Just feel the crowd, feel the moment, let go of the negative and feel the positive energy.’
It worked.
After arriving in Nagoya, unsure whether she would even get the chance to compete, Adriano will head home with an Asian Games bronze medal