Defending champion Sydney Sy and world No. 7 Jomary Torres scored contrasting semifinal victories to advance to the finals of their respective divisions in the 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo Championships, presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, on Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Eager to deliver in front of her hometown crowd, Sy overcame New Zealand’s Lilly Houben, 5-0, in the women’s sport sambo +80-kilogram semifinals.
Sy will now try to defend her title against Kazakhstan’s Arailym Abenova, the 2021 champion in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Abenova booked her place in the final after forcing Mongolia’s Sarangoo Ganbold to submit just seconds into their semifinal bout. The gold medal match was scheduled later that night.
(C) PSC
Torres, ranked No. 7 in the world, also remained on course for the championship after defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Dilbara Raimzhanova, 7-2, in the women’s 50kg combat sambo semifinals of the tournament, which is being held under the aegis of the National Sports Tourism Interagency Committee.
She will face Kazakhstan’s Daidry Paiyz, who defeated Mongolia’s Erdenet-od Byambajav in the other semifinal. The tournament is organized by the Pilipinas Sambo Federation Inc. and backed by Victory Liner.
The Philippines also secured another silver medal late Friday courtesy of newcomer Christine Angelic Espolong, who suffered an 8-0 loss to Kazakhstan’s Zarina Yergen in the women’s 59kg combat sambo final.
“This was an amazing experience for me despite the loss. I truly enjoyed although I only had two weeks to prepare for the match,” said Espolong, whose original combat sport is Muay Thai.
After a cautious start, Sy finally broke through early in the five-minute contest by scoring the opening point. She then executed a pin at the 3:09 mark, earning four more points to build a commanding lead.
Houben attempted to mount a comeback by repeatedly trying to take Sy to the ground, but the Filipina grappler relied on her experience and size to escape danger and comfortably secure the victory.
Torres, meanwhile, dominated the early stages of her semifinal, landing effective strikes and recording a pin to build a commanding 7-0 advantage.
Raimzhanova responded with a late surge, scoring two points in an attempt to cut into the deficit. However, Torres stayed composed, wisely avoiding further exchanges in the closing seconds to preserve the victory and book her spot in the championship match.
