‘Hungry’ Filipino Karatekas deliver in 2015 Thailand Open

Left out in the recent Southeast Asian Games, Filipino karatekas released all of those pent up emotions by winning four gold medals in the recent 2015 Thailand Open Karatedo Championship.

Mae Soriano ruled the women’s seniors -55kg kumite and Jaspher Fontillas prevailed in the cadet 70kg class while kata specialists Lance Gabriel Villafane and Chloe Bernadette Limson also delivered.

Aside from these victories, the Philippines also got eight silver and 12 bronze medals to end fifth overall in the four-day competition in Bangkok, Thailand that drew over 600 entries from 30 countries.

“It was a tough field but I used my experience and veteran moves to defeat my opponents,” said Soriano in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

The 33-year-old bronze medalist in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games hammered out a 4-3 victory in the finals at the expense of Ahn Tae Euen of South Korea.

Raymund Lee Reyes, secretary general of the Philippine Karatedo Federation, said the Filipino karatekas were hungry for competition after skipping the SEA Games in Singapore two months ago.

“We need more top-level competitions so we’ve decided to join. The key to winning more gold medals is international exposure,” said Reyes in the weekly forum backed by Accel, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation and San Miguel Corporation.

Had karatedo been included in the SEA Games, Reyes said they could had easily won two golds. He added they are now looking to participate in the Asian Karate Federation Championship in Japan next month and the world championships in Indonesia come October.

Apart from her golden performance, Limson also got a silver along with OJ Delos Santos, Randy Padua, Czarina Napa, Marvin Pinpin, Narayana Mesina, Jaime Villegas, Mark Andrei Barrientos.

Reyes said the PKF holds monthly tournaments to discover more potential national team members and sees the Batang Pinoy as a crucial source of athletes.

Filipinos who settled for the bronze were Rita Cuadra, Ivanna Cablao, Gian Valencia, Joco Vazquez, Joanna Ylanan, John Enrico Vasquez, Timothy Yu, River Lopez, Chris Kawaen, Gilbert Arellano, Alexis Nunez and Angelique Aguilar.