Junna Tsukii shows the gold medal she won in the World Games. —JUNE NAVARRO.
Gamely posing for photos, Filipino-Japanese Junna Tsukii willingly offered her gold medal from the recent 2022 World Games to those who wanted to flaunt it as theirs.
“You can borrow it even for a year. Just be ready to return the medal once I ask for it,’’ Tsukii told sportswriters with a toothy grin during her thanksgiving party on Saturday night at Joy Nostalg hotel in Pasig City.
If the reigning women’s kumite 50-kilogram world champion could have it her way, there would be more Filipino karatekas wearing a gold medal from a global tournament around their necks.
“I hope this medal is just the beginning of a bright future for Philippine karate. I don’t want to think that this is the best result for us,’’ said Tsukii, whose golden triumph in Birmingham, Alabama, erased the heartaches she had collected in the previous forays into international meets.
Tsukii wants the gold medal, the nation’s second victory in the World Games after billiard ace Carlo Biado’s win in the 2017 edition of the quadrennial meet in Poland, to serve as an inspiration for the next breed of Pinoy kumite fighters.
“I would be delighted to see more gold medals from the next generation. I want their victories to take over from what I have achieved,’’ said Tsukii.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol’’ Tolentino announced that the 31-year-old Tokyo-based fighter would receive a cash incentive of P500,000 from the Olympic body’s special trust fund for medalists.
That’s aside from the cool P1 million that Tsukii will get from the government under Republic Act No. 10699 (national athletes and coaches benefits and incentives act) through the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Before flying to Japan on Saturday and plunging back into training, Tsukii was asked to drop by Malacañang on Wednesday and pay a courtesy call to President Marcos, who congratulated Tsukii in a Facebook post immediately after her victory.
Also gracing the victory party were Karate Pilipinas president Ricky Lim, coach Okay Arpa and incoming PSC Commissioner Bong Coo, who noted in her speech that Filipino women have really excelled in sports as evidenced by Tsukii’s win a year after lifter Hidilyn Diaz captured the country’s first Olympic gold medal.
“Junna has not only garnered the highest accolade in the competition, she made us all proud,’’ said Lim. “It showed how determined she was to get it. She’s the most determined fighter out there, that’s why she’s the gold medalist in the world games.’’
Tsukii is slated to compete in a pair of karate premier leagues in September (Baku, Azerbaijan) and October (Los Angeles, California), but the biggest tournaments will come up next year in the Cambodia Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, and the world championships.
“For now, I just want to enjoy this moment for a few days and go immediately back to work,’’ said Tsukii.