MANILA -- The Philippines won six golds, one silver and two bronzes in the 1st World Youth Martial Arts Masterships in Jincheon, South Korea.
The gold medalists are Ghen-yan Berdon (boys 14-16 years old 48kgs), Bryan Ray Siglos (boys 16-18, 63.5kg), Liane Benito (girls 14-16, 48kgs), Mariah Trenyce Co (girls14-16, 51kgs), Rudzma Abubakar (girls16-18, 48kgs) and Islay Erika Bomogao (girls 14-16, 45kgs).
Kristian Narca won the silver medal in the boys 16-18, 48kgs while Rosemarie Recto (girls 16-18, 51kgs) and Felex Dave Cantores (boys 16-18, 60kgs) settled for the bronze medal.
Coaches Precious Ocaya, Roland Claro and Jonathan Polosan accompanied the athletes while Edzel Ngina, Mardel Claro and Francis Amandy joined the trip as international technical officials.
"We're very happy and proud with the fantastic performance of the team. They train hard everyday to give glory to our country and it has finally paid off," said Muay Thai Association of the Philippines (MAP) secretary general Pearl Managuelod, who bared the results of the tournament in an interview on Monday.
"We're very grateful for all the support we have been getting from our local chapters, our MAP officials and of course, the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Philippine Sports Institute," she added. Managuelod has expressed her optimism on the future of Filipinos in the sport.
"We're very excited and hopeful that this is just the beginning of our success in muaythai. The future is very bright for us in this sport," said Managuelod, who also announced that the MAP will hold its national championships this weekend at the Philsports Multi-Purpose Arena in Pasig City. (PNA)
