TWO THOMASIAN Judokas took home medals for the Philippines in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
UST’s Sydney Sy Tancontian and Al Llamas clinched silver and bronze medals, respectively, in kurash, a folk wrestling native to Central Asia.
Tancontian fell short against Myanmar’s Aye Aye Aung in their finals bout in the women’s over-87 kg. division, 1-0.
“This time, I’m happy pero I know na marami pa po akong kailangang ma-improve to be able to get that gold medal,” said Tanconian, who bagged bronze medals in the 2017 and 2019 SEA Games. “I’m very honored na ma-represent ulit ang Philippines.”
Tancotian prevailed over Nor Izzatul Fazlia Mohamad Tahir of Malaysia in the preliminary round and Vietnam’s Thi Thanh Thuy Tran in the semifinals.
Former Golden Judokas team captain Al Llamas nabbed his second-straight SEA Games bronze after bowing down to Vietnam’s Hai Le Cong Hoang in the semifinals.
The Philippines so far has a 5-11-12 gold-silver-bronze medal tally in the biennial meet.
The 31st edition of the SEA Games was originally scheduled for November 21 to December 2, 2021, but it was moved to May 12 to 23, 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
