With every member of the team capable of winning a medal, a golden performance remains the chief objective of everyone in the Philippine squad campaigning in the Asian Karate Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Starring seasoned fighters Jamie Lim, Junna Tsukii, Ivan Lim and Alwin Batican, the national karate team is scheduled to leave late Friday and arrive in Almaty on Sunday just in time for the registration of participants for the Dec. 18 to 22 continental meet.
“All of them are capable of winning medals, but of course the main target is to get the gold,’’ said Karate Pilipinas president Ricky Lim.
Also joining the team are Remon Misu (women’s -55 kilogram), Sakura Alforte (women’s individual kata) and John Enrico Vasquez (men’s individual kata).
Lim, the reigning Southeast Asian Games champion, will be entered in the women’s -61kg, the Filipino-Japanese Tsukii is set to compete in the women’s -50kg while Batican and Agustin will participate in the men’s -67kg and -75kg divisions, respectively
“They are all healthy after coming out of their training camp in Baguio. They have prepared well for this,’’ said Lim.