Junna Tsukii handed the Philippines its first gold medal in the 2022 World Games held in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday morning, July 9.
Tsukii won the gold medal in the Women’s Kumite -50 kg event.
The 30-year-old karateka won over Yorgelis Salazar of Venezuela in the final, 2-0.
Tsukii shrugged off a bumpy start, finishing with a 1-2 win-loss record in the group stages. One of those losses was against Salazar, 1-8.
The Filipina managed to get her act together and make it to the finals following a 4-3 win over Miho Miyahara of Japan. This set her up for another encounter with Salazar. – bny
