Jerry Olsim gave the Philippines its only gold medal in kickboxing of the 30th Southeast Asian Games, Monday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Olsim dominated Klinming Sarayut of Thailand on all scorecards, 3-0 (20-11, 16-8, 19-6) in their -69 kg match, to open the medal fights
However, that proved to be the only bright spot for the debuting squad.
Renalyn Dacquel and Jomar Balangui failed in their final matches against Vietnamese counterparts, settling for silver medals.
Dacquel lost to Nguyen Thi Hang Nga 2-1 in the women’s -48kg full contact. Meanwhile, Balangui bowed to Phan Ba Hoi 2-1 in the men’s -54kg low kick.
Still, it was a moment to remember for the Baguio-native.
“Hindi ko malaman kung anong nararamdaman ngayon, pero sobrang saya ko talaga. Alam ko magagaling ang Thailand sa striking. Sobrang saya ko na natalo natin ang Thai sa striking,” Olsim said
The Philippines still has two more shots at gold when Olsim’s stablemates Gina Iniong and Jean Claude Saclag see action on Tuesday.
