By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Mark Lester Ragay, Mark Anthony Polo and Vincent Ventura saved Team Philippines from a gold medal shutout by winning the team gold in men’s taolu in the 2023 IWUF World Wushu Championships in Fort Worth, Texas on Monday, Nov. 20 (Tuesday in Manila).
They performed their routines sharply and unison, tallying 9.616 points on the way to winning the gold medal in the duilian competition.
Brunei’s Majdurano Joel Bin Majallah, Sain and Abel Wee Yuen Lim finished a close second with 9.613 points, while Spain’s Nestor Urzainqui Milla, Aidan Pose Martinez and Victor de la Plaza Schineper bagged the bronze (9.433).
Their golden triumph came a day after Agatha Wong clinched the silver medal in the women’s taijiquan event.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Kilapio, Clemente Tabugara Jr. and Arnel Mandal settled for silvers after yielding to their respective rivals.
Kilapio absorbed a stinging 2-1 defeat at the hands of Vietnamese Lan Nguyen Thi in the 48kg; Tabugara bowed to Chinese Wei Guo, 2-0, in the 65kg; and Mandal lost to another Chinese in Tang Sishuo by gap point in the 52kgs.
Russel Diaz, meanwhile, claimed the bronze medal after losing in the semifinals to China’s Yang Zingmen, 2-0, in the 48kg.
Overall, the Filipino bets collected one gold, four silver and one bronze medal to finish at seventh place among 72 nations.
It eclipsed the country’s previous finish of one gold, one silver and two bronzes in the 2019 edition held in Shanghai, China.
As expected, China won the overall title with an impressive haul of 15 gold medals, followed by Vietnam (5-3-3) and Macau (5-2-4).
