Kaila Napolis salvages jiu-jitsu bronze in Asian Games

FILE–Kaila Napolis.–JUNE NAVARRO/INQUIRER

HANGZHOU, China—Kaila Napolis salvaged a bronze medal on Thursday after dealing Hessa Alshamsi a piercing 4-2 defeat in women’s ju-jitsu at the 19th Asian Games.

Napolis, a two-time world championships bronze medalist, added the third-place performance to her collection after pulling off a great escape act in their -52kg encounter.

“When the match was tied, I didn’t know what to do. But I remembered what my coach told me in situations like these and I was able to pull through,’’ said the 27-year-old Napolis, who topped the Asian championships in the same weight class early this year.

Alshamsi was in control almost throughout the five-minute clash, before Napolis turned things around by escaping her opponent’s grip just in the nick of time.

“I wasn’t able to win the gold, but I’m still happy with this medal. All the hard work paid off,’’ said Napolis.

She seemed headed toward a victory run in a bid to join Meggie Ochoa, who struck gold on Wednesday in the -48kg, after winning her first two matches against Kazakhstan’s Kristina Zhurabekova and South Korea’s Jeonghye Park.

Asma Alhosani of United Arab Emirates, however, frustrated Napolis, 2-0, in the semifinal, sending the Filipino to the bronze contest.

The Napolis bronze was the 11th for the Philippines apart from three golds–including one from Annie Ramirez later on–and a silver.