The 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China, brought both heartbreak and hope for the Filipino delegation as several athletes battled tough competition across various disciplines.
In one of the most disappointing moments of the day, Rudzma Abubakar of Zamboanga City was forced to forfeit her bronze medal match in the women’s muay thai -47-kilogram division after suffering a dislocated nose during her semifinal bout.
Abubakar faced China’s Xiaohui Lui on Saturday at the Sichuan Gymnasium. The hometown favorite landed powerful elbows that caused enough damage for the referee to stop the fight in the second round.
Abubakar was also coping with back spasms sustained from her earlier match against Ukraine’s Anastasiia Mykhailenko.
Originally set to face Morocco’s Oumaima Belouarrat for bronze on Sunday, Abubakar will instead return to Manila immediately for medical treatment.
Meanwhile, the Filipino contingent found a beacon of hope in Raph Trinidad, who advanced to the finals of the men’s cable wakeboard event at the Sancha Lake Taohuadao Arena.
Despite a dip in performance from his qualification round, Trinidad delivered an inspired semifinal routine, scoring 70.80 points to secure a spot among the six finalists.
He will face strong competition on Sunday morning from top contenders, including France’s Loic Deschaux and Germany’s Max Milde and Florian Weiherer.
Not all wakeboard hopes fared as well, though. Eric Ordonez finished fifth in the men’s wakesurf semifinal heat with a score of 40.00, missing out on a medal round berth as only the top three advanced.
The Filipino dragon boat teams struggled in multiple events at the Xinglong Lake Hubin Arena, falling short in the 8-seater and 10-seater 200- and 500-meter qualification and semifinal races.
The lone exception was the 8-seater 2000-meter squad, which finished ninth in the finals but will have another chance to compete in the 10-seater 2000-meter finals on Sunday.
Other athletes faced similar challenges: Wushu cartist Jones Llabres Inso placed seventh overall in combined taijiquan and taijijian events at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Gymnasium.
Meanwhile, the men’s floorball team suffered a heavy 11-1 loss to Sweden, with Lucas Perez scoring the lone Filipino goal early in the match.
