Rough start for Pinoy athletes in 5th Aimag

ASHGABAT—Marc Alexander Lim defied a highly supportive crowd rallying behind hometown bet Arslan Setdarow to subdue his Turkman rival and move closer to the medal round in jiu-jitsu competitions on a slow day for the Philippines in the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (Aimag).

Lim’s victory over Setdarow, 4-0, in the men’s Ne-waza -69kg category was just a few of the bright spots for the country, which absorbed successive setbacks in athletics, jiu-jitsu and traditional wrestling on Monday after the 62-nation sportsfest formally opened late Sunday evening.

“I fought real hard to get into a favorable position,” said the Davao City-based submission specialist. “When I scored, I just held on until the finish.”

Lim, a bronze medalist in the 2015 World Jiu-Jitsu Championships held in Long Beach, California, was able to maneuver around Setdarow into a superior position, automatically earning four points halfway through the six-minute round.

The 20-year-old should go through Ibrahim Abdulla Mohammed Alhosani of United Arab Emirates in the quarterfinals to reach the medal round.

Over at the Main Indoor Arena, wrestler Jonathan Maquilan also advanced to the next phase with a 5-0 triumph over Jawid Ahmad Amiri of Afghanistan in the men’s classic -62kg category.

Jiu-jitsu fighter Hansel Terrence Co progressed to the next round after Mahdi Ibrahimi of Afghanistan failed to show up in their men’s ne-waza -77kg bout, but was disqualified against Saoud Abdulla Yousef Ali of UAE in the quarters.

Ronna Levita Ilao became the first casualty in taekwondo after falling prey to Iran’s Fatemeh Madahi, who prevailed, 10-5, and moved up to the quarterfinals of the women’s -46kg.

At the indoor track and field oval, Eric Cray is set to compete in the men’s 60m hurdle late Monday night as well as former Asian long-jump queen Marestella Torres-Sunang.