FILE–Meggie Ochoa. INQUIRER PHOTO / LEO M. SABANGAN II.
MANILA, Philippines—Meggie Ochoa swept the competition in women’s adult -48 kilogram category en route to the gold in the 2022 JJIF Jiu-Jitsu World Championship in United Arab Emirates on Friday (Philippine time).
Ochoa captured top prize by beating Canada’s Vicky Hoang Ni Ni in the final, 2-0.
The 30-year-old athlete did not absorb any losses in the tournament, as she bested Romania’s Lupu Oana in round one, 14-0, and Ukraine’s Rusetska Oleksandra, 9-0, in the second round.
Her most dominant win came in the semifinals when she defeated UAE’s Abdoh Abdulla Balqees Abdulkareem, 22-0.
Ochoa, however, was not the first Filipino fighter to gain gold in the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship.
Kimberly Anne Custodio bagged the country’s first win earlier this week when she outlasted Thailand’s Pechrada Kacie Tan, 6-4, in the women’s -45kg category.
Custodio and Ochoa’s heroics powered the Philippines to fourth place behind UAE, Canada and Germany in the adult jiu-jitsu category.