Marie June Adriano claims bronze for PH's second medal in karate

September 24 ------ Marie June Adriano won the Philippines' second medal in karate in the 2026 Asian Games after capturing bronze in the women's -50kg class in kumite in Toyohashi City.

Adriano, 22, defeated Chinese Taipei's Ya-chi Chung, 10-3, in the bronze medal match to secure her first Asian Games medal. The Filipino karateka, a first-timer in the Asian Games, had earlier beaten Cambodia's Srey Phea Chonn, 4-3, and South Korea's Yang Yewon, 4-0, before falling narrowly to Hong Kong's Tsang Yee Ting, 5-4, in the semifinals. But she recovered in the repechage against Chung to ensure that she will return home with a medal.

It also gave her a measure of revenge, having lost to Chung in their previous two meetings. "Pangatlong beses na po naming nagharap," said Adriano, a Human Kinetics student at PUP and a native of Llanera in Nueva Ecija. "Mas nagtiwala po ako sa technique ko, sa kung ano yung baon ko, kung ano yung trinain ko para sa competition na ito," she said of her mindset in the battle for bronze. "Sa atin na ito, sa amin na ito. Kailangan ko lang mag-work."

The medal capped a breakthrough run for the young karateka, who said she was grateful for the opportunity to represent the Philippines. "Super laking bagay niya para sa akin. As a first-timer, talagang yung pressure, nandoon lahat," Adriano said. "Sobrang happy po ako na isa ako sa napili at nakapagbigay ako ng medalya para sa Pilipinas."

Adriano's bronze gave the Philippines its second karate medal of the Games and its fifth medal overall. The women's kata team had won bronze as well on Tuesday.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com