On eve of all-female PH parade, jiujitsu’s woman warrior gets sweet revenge on 2019 tormentor for first gold

Kaila Napolis waited for lengthy to grapple with Jessa Khan once more after an agonizing night time again within the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Video games.

“Getting again at her took a very long time and I used to be actually motivated to win,’’ mentioned Napolis on Thursday.

A day earlier than the Philippines makes historical past by marching solely feminine athletes within the opening ceremonies of the thirty second SEA Video games, it was a lady who delivered the nation’s first gold.

And later within the day, one other girl delivered the nation’s second.

Napolis took the gold within the ladies’s “Ne-waza” 52-kilogram division of jiujitsu—and he or she redeemed herself after a painful loss 4 years in the past, beating an athlete who is taken into account one of many world’s finest in entrance of her supportive house followers.

And it was a becoming revenge: Napolis misplaced to Khan in 2019, when Manila hosted the SEA Video games.

“I can nonetheless do not forget that loss at house [in 2019]. To win towards her (Khan) right here in Cambodia is overwhelming,’’ mentioned Napolis, teary-eyed for redeeming herself from that heart-breaker 4 years in the past within the ladies’s 49-kg golden match.

“I promised myself that I can’t let the chance cross as soon as I get the possibility,’’ mentioned Napolis.

Later within the day, Angel Gwen Derla delivered a second gold medal for the Philippines within the ladies’s bamboo protect type of “kun bokator.”

The 19-year-old from Cabuyao, Laguna province, quickly shifted from “pencak silat” and tried her hand within the Cambodian indigenous sport, seizing the win with 8.5 factors to frustrate the host nation’s wager on the Chroy Changvar Corridor.

Cambodia’s Chanchhorvy Puth (8.47) settled for the silver after her practically two-minute routine and Deslya Anggraini of Indonesia positioned third (8.42) to achieve the rostrum.

A tribute

“I actually wished to characterize our nation by competing right here within the SEA Video games. By way of sheer exhausting work, I used to be capable of ship although I solely skilled for 2 months,’’ mentioned Derla.

The Philippines will subject an all-female solid of athletes for the opening parade, with Philippine Olympic Committee chief Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino reaching the choice as a strategy to honor the current rise of the nation’s sportswomen.

“This can be a first time—a tribute to ladies athletes and to the gender equality program of the Worldwide Olympic Committee,” mentioned Tolentino, who shall be one in all solely two males who will be a part of the parade apart from chef de mission Chito Loyzaga.

And the early wins of the delegation validated Tolentino’s determination.

“One huge congratulations for one in all our feminine athletes breaking the ice for Staff Philippines in these SEA Video games,” he mentioned.

The 22-year-old Napolis, from Muntinlupa Metropolis, swept Khan from beneath and transitioned to a dominant place that earned her two factors close to the tip of their match.

Khan is the 2018 Asian Video games champion within the 49 kg and lately claimed a bronze medal within the European Championship held in Paris, France.

The 21-year-old Cambodian-Mexican is a jiujitsu star within the world circuit, having gained the sunshine featherweight title within the prestigious Worldwide Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation Santa Cruz Worldwide Open two weeks in the past.

“She’s (Khan) well-known right here and he or she’s top-of-the-line on the planet. It feels good to reverse my place [against her],’’ mentioned Napolis.

Khan tried to keep away from the sweep and went for the legs of Napolis with a knee bar, however the assault was too shallow, permitting the Filipino to rise up and earn the 2 factors.

Again of their 2019 faceoff, Khan gained by a bonus level in entrance of a supportive Napolis crowd.

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