Ochoa plucks jiujitsu crown
The victory was even sweeter for Ochoa as the sport just made a debut in the biennial meet, making her the first-ever winner of a SEA Games gold medal
SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — The Filipinos’ gold rush continues as it copped three gold medals in the jiujitsu competitions of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games Monday at the Laus Group Events Center here.
Asian champion Meggie Ochoa opened up the country’s golden salvo in the first day of competitions as she easily defeated Dao Le Thu Trang of Vietnam with a 17-0 romp in the women’s -45kg category.
The victory was even sweeter for Ochoa as the sport just made a debut in the biennial meet, making her the first-ever winner of a SEA Games gold medal.
Ochoa, an Ateneo de Manila alumnus, won the gold medal in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan last year before clinching the bronze medal in the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta.
She also became the country’s first ever title-holder of the Jiujitsu International Federation World Championship.
Her golden performance beefed up her chances to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, redeeming herself from the bronze medal finish in the world jiujitsu meet in California after getting disqualified due to technicality last June.
In the men’s side, Carlo Angelo Pena made short work of Indonesia’s Richard Rengga in the men’s under 56kg division, outscoring the Indon 17-2 to clinch the gold medal in the two-day competitions.
Not to be outdone was Dean Michael Roxas, who snared the gold in the -85kg division via submission over Benjamin Jie Jun Chia of Singapore for a perfect score.
Marc Alexander Lim, however, settled for the silver medal after suffering a 0-2 defeat from the hands of Lertthaisong of Thailand in the men’s -69kg category while compatriot Dee Gian Taylor salvaged the bronze against Ikhsan Ananda of Indonesia in the men’s -62kg category.