HANGZHOU. – Although fighting hurt, with God as her motivation, Margarita “Meggie” Ochoa beat a familiar foe Thursday to deliver the Philippines’ second gold medal in the Asian Games here.
A two-time world champion, Ochoa, 33, used her vast experience to frustrate Balqees Abdulla of the United Arab Emirates, a previous training partner, winning a scoreless finale by submission and advantage in the 48kg ju-jitsu finals at the XSL Gymnasium.
Ochoa’s win came on the heels of EJ Obiena’s golden triumph in the pole vault, Eumir Marcial’s entry into the 80kg boxing finals, and Gilas Pilipinas’ victory over China.
Shortly after her win, President Marcos Jr. congratulated her, saying: “Congratulations, Meggie! Your comeback in women’s 48kg Jiu-jitsu at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China not only earned us our 2nd gold medal but also proved that martial arts mastery runs deep in our veins.”
She said she always goes into matches armed with a thorough research on her rivals.
“Ang mga nakakalaban ko, nire-research ko talaga. Ito, familiar ako, kasi naka-training ko siya, magkasama kami sa training camp,” said Ochoa.
She said the gold medal match could have gone either way but added she did enough to get the nod of the judges.
“Alam ko kaya ko siyang talunin, pero kaya din niya akong talunin kasi nagte-training kami together,” said Ochoa, who won the world title in the Women’s Ne-Waza System last year in UAE (48kgs) and five years ago in Sweden (49kgs).
Ochoa opened her campaign here with a 50-0 submission win over Mongolian Odgerel Batbayar and pulled another emphatic victory over Kazakhstan’s Nazgul Rakhayeva.
She got injured in the semifinals where she scored a scrambling 4-2 triumph over Thailand’s Pechrada Kacie Tan.
“Sobrang dami kong pinagdaanan leading to this day. Nagka-trangkaso ako at may injury na ako iniinda noon pa. Sa semis, na-injure pa ako ulit. I was not 100 percent the entire time pero nagamot naman, kaya kinaya naman,” said Ochoa, who fought with a hurting hip.
She dominated her foe with her aggressive play to win by advantage.
“Palagi namang may pressure, pero hindi ko iniisip ang pressure kapag lumalaban ako. Ang iniisip ko lang, I want to give glory to the Lord,” said Ochoa. “‘Yan ‘yung nag-iisang thing on my mind at inuulit-ulit ko sa sarili ko before each match.”
Her victory raised the Philippines’ gold-silver-bronze tally to 2-1-9 for 22nd place overall at press time and guaranteed her a P2 million windfall based on the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act.
