Philippines wins SEA Games medals in kurash, kick boxing ahead of opening ceremonies

HANOI, May 12 ------ The Philippine kurash and Kickboxing teams added more medals to the country's total in the 31st Southeast Asian Games on Wednesday, a day before the multi-sport formally opens here. Playing coach Al Llamas and Sydney Sy copped a bronze and silver medal, respectively, in kurash to bump the team's haul to six. Meanwhile, Sy bested Thi Thanh Thuy Tran in their semifinal bout in Women's +87kg, 1-0, to reach the gold medal match but fell short of Cambodia's Aye Aye Aung, 0-1.

In kickboxing, Gretel De Paz and Team Lakay's Gina Iniong are both assured of silver medals after winning their semifinals matches in women's low kick -60kg and women's full contact -56kg, respectively. De Paz bested Surachada Namrak of Thailand, 2-1, while Iniong blanked fellow ONE Championship fighter Jihin Radzuan, 3-0.

However, their male counterparts Emmanuel Cantores suffered losses to settle for bronzes. Cantores fell against Huy Nguyen Quang, 0-3, in the men's low kick -60kg. Banario, for his part, lost to Cambodia's Lvay Chhoeung, 0-3, in men's low kick -71kg.

In the medal table of the official SEA Games website, the Philippines currently has nine medals -- one gold, four silvers and four bronzes.

Source: philstar.com