Saclag falls in final, claims PH's first silver in 2026 Asiad

September 23 ------ Filipino fighter Jean Claude Saclag gave the Philippines its first silver medal in the 2026 Asian Games after faltering against an opponent from Tajikistan in the final of the men's -65kg class in traditional mixed martial arts.

Saclag was beaten by Tajikistan's Otabek Rajabov, who seized a 3-0 win in their showdown at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center. He had reached the final after beating Japan's Daisuke Murayama by unanimous decision in the semifinals. "Sayang talaga. Gusto ko talagang makakuha ng gold. Nag-expect ako na kaya kong mag-gold. Malungkot ako, hindi lang dahil natalo ako, kundi dahil sa performance ko," said Saclag, who expected to perform better but found it difficult to deal with Rajabov's strength on the ground. "Akala ko nag-improve na ako, pero grabe ang higpit niya sa baba. Gusto kong tumayo para makabalik sa laban, pero hindi niya talaga ako pinatayo," he explained.

Saclag admitted that he became too eager after the opening round, which affected his execution of their game plan. "Ang game plan sana, strike, strike, tapos iwas. Hindi ako magpap takedown," he explained. "Pero noong second round, siguro nagmadali ako dahil akala ko nakuha ko na 'yung first round," he added.

His silver adds to the bronze won by teammate Carlos Alvarez in the men's -77kg class. The Philippines also picked up bronzes in women's soft tennis and women's team kata in karate. This is Saclag's second Asian Games silver, having also placed second in wushu in the 2014 Asiad in Incheon. He had hoped to finally capture the gold after coming close more than a decade ago, but the top of the podium remained elusive. "Sinabi ko sa sarili ko na ito na 'yung pagkakataon kong mag-gold, kasi noong 2014, natalo rin ako sa finals sa wushu," he said. "Sayang, pero thankful pa rin ako. Nakarating tayo sa finals at safe pa ako," Saclag also said.

Despite the disappointment, Saclag explained that transitioning to MMA was not particularly difficult because of his background with Team Lakay in Baguio. His experience in wushu sanda and kickboxing helped develop his striking, but the final exposed areas of his ground game that still need work. "Hindi naman ako nahirapan sa transition, kasi iyon naman ang background ng team namin sa Baguio. Pero na-realize ko na malayo pa ang kailangan kong i-improve sa ground game," he said. Saclag said he plans to use the experience as motivation when he returns to the Philippines. "Gagamitin ko itong sakit para mag-improve pa. Kailangan ko pang husayan ang ground game ko," he added.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com