BY WAYLON GALVEZ
Without a doubt, karateka Jamie Christine Lim has indeed genes of a champion.
The daughter of PBA great Samboy Lim and former Pag-IBIG Fund CEO Darlene Berberabe showed it by claiming the gold medal in the +61kg kumite event following a thrilling 2-1 win over Zefanya Ceyco of Indonesia in the 30th Southeast Asian Games yesterday at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
Lim pulled off the great win after training only for five months.
As she focused on her study at the University of the Philippines, it was only last July when she resumed training – right after graduating summa cum laude with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.
“I worked super hard for this,” said the 22-year-old Lim, whose mom – former PagIbig CEO Darlene Berberabe was among those who cheered her from the stands. “Four years stop ako (competing) because I’ve always on academics.”
“Sobrang against the odds, because yung mga kalaban ko full time athletes po sila and nag-full time lang ako like five month ago. Basta I did my work, as in I worked hard everyday, tapos no shortcuts. I wanted it so much.”
On her way to the gold medal match, Lim scored impressive wins opposite Malaysia’s Audrey Japyus 7-3 in the quarterfinals, and Thi Thao Bui of Vietnam 5-1 in the semifinal round.
Lim, a gold medalist in the Amatör Spor Haftasi Karate Championship in Sakarya, Turkey last October, credited the entire karatedo national team, especially Turkish head coach Okay Arpa for their belief in her as she came back from that four-year hiatus.
“Binantayan niya (Arpa) talaga ako and naniwala siya sa akin,” said Lim. “He just never stopped believing in me and up to today, he believes in me, he always believes in me.”
“Karate has always been in my heart,” she said. “And 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines, how special is that di ba? The timing is perfect, I just graduated. I got my goal sa academics. I think the signs just told me to, it’s calling me, calling me to comeback.”
