Jean Claude Saclag moved one win away from an Asian Games gold medal after punching his ticket to the mixed martial arts men’s traditional -65kg final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
The former wushu standout defeated Japan’s Daisuke Murayama by unanimous decision in their semifinal bout on Monday at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center in Japan.
Saclag will return to action Tuesday afternoon, when he will face Tajikistan’s Otabek Rajabov for the gold medal. Rajabov booked his place in the final after defeating Kazakhstan’s Sanzhar Adilov in the other semifinal.
Saclag entered the competition with a first-round bye before opening his campaign in the quarterfinals, where he defeated Saudi Arabia’s Saud Fawaz Alholem on Sunday.
Now, the Filipino fighter is one victory away from capping his Asian Games debut with the country’s latest gold medal.
(C) POC Media Group
Meanwhile, Carlos Alvarez secured a bronze medal in the men’s traditional -77kg division after his semifinal run ended against Kazakhstan’s Yerkingali Burkutalin.
Alvarez suffered a technical knockout loss to Burkutalin in the semifinal, ending his bid for a place in the gold medal bout.
Despite the defeat, Alvarez still delivered the Philippines’ second bronze medal of the Asian Games, following the women’s soft tennis team’s podium finish.
The Filipino earned his medal after stopping Indonesia’s Anada Wahyu Setyo Prabowo by technical knockout at the 22-second mark of their quarterfinal bout on Sunday.
With Saclag still in contention for gold, the Philippines will have another chance to add to its medal haul when the MMA finals get underway Tuesday.
