KARATEKA Junna Tsukii, who won the country’s first gold medal in the sport in the 12th World Games in Birmingham, Alabama last week, will receive P1 million as her bonus for the achievement, according to Philippine Sports Commission officer-in-charge Atty. Guillermo Iroy Jr.
“This incentive is based on the provision of Republic Act 10699, the new incentives law, which awards our top athletes bonuses for their outstanding accomplishments in major international competition,” Iroy said.
He added the bonus will be secured from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and will be awarded when the Tokyo-based Tsukii returns to the country next week.
After failing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2022 and failing to win a medal in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games last May, Tsukii redeemed herself by ruling the women’s kumite 50kg class, beating Venezuela’s Yorgelis Salazar 2-1 in the finals.
Changing her tactics with the help of Turkish coach Okay Arpa and his father-mentor Shin, who flew all the way from Tokyo to witness her daughter perform in the quadrennial meet for non-Olympic sports, the petite and pretty karateka avenged her 1-8 loss to Salazar in the opening round.
Other top Pinoy gold prospects vying in The World Games are muay thai world champion Philip Delarmino, who sees action in the men’s 57kg division starting Friday (Thursday in the US); and cue aces Rubilen Amit, a Vietnam Southeast Asian Games double gold medalist, and defending 9-ball champion Carlo Biado.
Amit and Biado, who bagged the men’s 9-ball gold in the Vietnam SEA Games, were scheduled to see action in the first round Wednesday at the Sheraton Birmingham Ballroom of the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Complex.
The men’s and women’s 9-ball events will run for four days and end on Saturday (Sunday in the US).
Also up are triathletes Kim Mangrobang, Fernando Jose Casares and John Chicano in the men’s and women’s duathlon this weekend at the Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham.
The men’s and women’s individual duathlon events will be held on Saturday (Sunday in the US) with the mixed relay event the following day.
