When ju-jitsu practitioner Margarita Ochoa received her P2 million check yesterday as incentive for winning the gold medal in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, she began thinking about the road leading to her ultimate goal.
Ochoa swears it’s quite heartbreaking that she won’t get the chance to vie in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics since ju-jitsu won’t be played but she is pinning her hopes on 2024 instead.
At 27, Ochoa says age seems to be a non-factor as “there are still those who are active well into their 30s,” she said, her gold medal from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and check in hand.
And with the Philippines gearing up for the Asian Games in Indonesia next year, Ochoa is training her sights on making a splash in Indonesia.
“There are lots of tournaments before the Asian Games and starting January, I will be actively taking part in many of these,” said Ochoa, who joined fellow medalists from the AIMAG and the ASEAN Paralympics during the awarding rites at the Ultra in Pasig.
The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) presided over the distribution of cash incentives that amounted to more than P29 million meant for 114 medalists.
PSC chairman William “Butch” Ramirez then reminded the award winners to spend their earnings wisely.
“There is a corresponding responsibility when you receive the money (from government)” said Ramirez, who shared the special moment with the athletes alongside Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco and congressmen Monsour del Rosario (Makati) and Eric Pineda (Party List).
Del Rosario, incidentally, also served as chief of mission to the AIMAG.