A PHILIPPINE karatedo team composed of promising youngsters clinched 23 medals—topped by seven golds—to finish fifth overall in the recent Seventh Karate-do Goju-kai Association Global Championship at the Richmond Olympic Oval in British Columbia, Canada.
Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) awardee Adam Ortiz Bondoc and Paulo Manuel Gorospe led the haul of the athletes from the Association for the Advancement of Karatedo (AAK) by winning gold medals in their respective events in the tournament that gathered 500 bets from 24 countries.
Bondoc, a Grade 11 International Baccalaureate student and 2017 Junior Athlete of the Year of the PSA, won gold in the male individual junior’s 16-17 kumite event, while Gorospe, 8, and a Grade 3 student at Xavier School-Greenhills, claimed gold in the boys 7-8 individual kata before pulling off another brilliant victory in the individual kumite.
Nichole Erica Dantes, a 17-year old student from Colegio San Agustin, claimed gold in bunkai (two players who perform actual combat application of the kata), and a silver in the open team event and bronze in individual kumite.
Also, excelling was 13-year old Matthea Lazo of Immaculate Conception Academy in individual girls kumite 12-13 years old +50 kgs. She clinched silver in individual girls’ kata for 12 to 13 years old.
Also, bagging medals were Sakura Alforte of La Salle-Zobel (gold 14-15 kumite and bronze kata), Junna Tsukii (gold women’s open kumite, silver team kumite and bronze -50 kgs kumite), Ricca Torres (gold bunkai team, silver team kumite and silver individual kata), Naoki Alforte of La Salle-Zobel (silver 12-13 boys kata and bronze kumite), Johan Cancela of Homeschool Global (silver nine years old kumite and bronze kata) and Daniel Cancela (bronze 12-13 individual kata and kumite).
“It’s a job well done,” AAK coach and former international champion Richard Lim said, stressing the team sent only 14 karatekas to the event.