By Nick Giongco
JAKARTA – A day after Hidilyn Diaz produced the first gold medal, the Philippines could only deliver a bronze courtesy of Divine Wally, who lost her semifinal match against two-time world champion Mansoryan Samiroumi of Iran, 2-1, Wednesday night in the -52 kg. wushu competitions of the 2018 Asian Games.
Wally, who stands barely five feet, was unable to negate the 5-6 Samiroumi’s height and reach advantage and it was apparent by the final buzzer that she had lost the chance to advance based on her facial expression alone.
As Wally walked back towards her handlers, she was lethargic while Samiroumi looked extremely confident that she got the job done and the Filipino didn’t protest when the referee didn’t raise her hand.
Samiroumi came into the semis showdown on the heels of her 2017 world championships win in Kazan, Russia. In the 2013 edition, she also placed first in Malaysia.
Four years ago in Incheon, Wally could only finish fifth, making this recent achievement a landmark event in her young career, nonetheless.
Before making it to the final four, the 23-year-old Wally fashioned out a clear-cut 7-2 win over Petriwi Selviah of Indonesia.
It was wushu’s second medal after Agatha Wong captured the bronze in women’s talou.
The Blue Girls were still engaging Chinese-Taipeh at presstime with a victory assuring them of at least a bronze.
The Filipinos resume their quest for honors Thursday with gymnastics gold medal hopeful Carlos Yulo leading the way.
Yulo is tight-lipped about his chances of striking gold in the finals of the rhythmic gymnastics competitions but his major backer is the opposite.
Yulo, who has been winning medals from competitions that he took part in Qatar, Azerbaijan and Thailand, is a cinch for the gold, according to Carrion.
Apart from the floor, Yulo is also vying for top honors in the pommel horse and rings.
Yulo’s improvement is a result of his Japanese training stint that began three years ago.
On the eve of the Hong Kong clash, the Filipina spikers gathered for training under the watchful eyes of winning coach Shaq delos Santos.
After tasting the fury of Southeast Asia powerhouse Thailand and world power Japan earlier, the women’s team has refused to be demoralized.
Delos Santos believes that the straight-sets beatings the squad absorbed from the Thais and the Japanese will prove beneficial in the end.
