NEW CLARK CITY — Annie Ramirez finally achieved her life-long goal to win a Southeast Asian Games gold medal on Tuesday.
But it wasn’t for her exploits in judo — where she lorded it over as student at University of Santo Tomas — but for her new-found sport of jiujitsu.
The 28-year-old Ramirez scored a 3-0 victory over Malaysia’s Cassandra Poyong to top the women’s -55-kilogram division at Laus Events Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.
Her feat, and that of Adrian Guggenheim in men’s -70kg, enabled Team Philippines to consolidate its campaign with five golds already.
Ramirez has won Asian Indoor Games for the Philippines in judo and was a four-time MVP on the UAAP.
But her decision to shift sport paid off after she bagged the gold medal in World Pro Jiu Jitsu Championships last year in Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim won by submission over Indonesia’s Willy Willy to capture the gold.