The Baguio judo women’s team bagged four medals – a gold, two silvers, and a bronze – in the virtual 2021 Women’s Martial Arts Festival from July 8 to 10.
Zoey Rodillas Itliong led the Baguio athletes with a gold medal in the 10 to 14 years old juvenile category while Daphne Abella Pineda placed second in the same category with 26 participants.
Aliyana Lorenzo settled for silver medal in the seniors white belt category while Yvonne Ghannah Aragon bagged bronze in the same division for the 18 to 23 years old with 21 participants.
The team represented by Young Men’s Christian Association’s Kaitagi Judo Club is under former Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Sharon Dino, silver medalist Racquel Lorenzo Salinas, and Francine Rillera.
Coach Estie Gay Liwanen, a former Baguio-based judoka and presently a member of the Philippine Judo Team, also provided assistance to the Baguio team during the tournament sanctioned by the Philippine Sports Commission.
The competition was held online. The judokas were scored based on their execution of forms, which includes ritsu-rei (standing bow), zarei (kneeling bow), mae-mawari-ukemi (judo roll), and three judo throwing techniques (ippon seoinage, ogoshi, and osoto gari) with combination left and right.
Decorum and discipline were also part of the rubrics, while tying their hairs and fixing their uniforms were given scores as well.
The first of its kind, the virtual Women’s Martial Arts competitions featured judo, karatedo, Muaythai, arnis, pencak silat, taekwondo, and wrestling.
The YMCA Kaitagi Judo Club conducts regular virtual judo trainings also under the guidance of sensei Wilfredo Diño and Ferdinand Cudao. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 27, 2024
