Pencak silat’s Abad captures bronze medal in Asian Games

FILE: MEDAL WINNERS. Philippine Pencak Silat Association president Princess Jacel Kiram (center) with bronze winners (L-R) Jeffrey Rhey Loon, Dines Dumaan and Cherry Mae Regalado. (Photo by Judith Caringal/Radyo Pilipinas2 via PNA)

JAKARTA — The Philippines got another bronze medal in pencak silat, this time, by Almohaidib Abad in the men’s singles final.

Abad, who placed fifth (singles) and sixth (team) in the 2017 SEA Games, scored 455 points to finish behind Indonesia’s Sugianto Sugianto and Thailand’s Ilyas Sadara in the competition at the Padepokan Pencak Silat in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) on Wednesday.

Sugianto, who won the gold in the 2016 World Championships in Indonesia and the silver in the SEA Games in 2017 and 2015, topped the event with 471 points.

Sadara bagged the silver with 460 points. He also won the silver in 2016 World Championships and pocketed the bronze medal in the SEA Games in 2017, 2015 and 2013.

The Philippine pencak silat delegation now has four bronzes, including the medals won by Cherry Mae Regalado (women’s singles), Dines Dumaan (men’s Class B 50kg to 55kg) and Jefferson Rhey Loon (men’s Class D 60kg to 65kg).

In judo, Filipino-Japanese Shugen Nakano lost to Kazakhstan’s Yeldos Zhumakanov, 0-10, during their second-round match at the Jakarta Convention Center Plenary Hall.

“He’s (Zhumakanov) very powerful,” said the 21-year-old Nagano, who joined the national team in 2013.

In the first round, Nagano scored 10-0 victory over Malaysia’s Wei Fu Chong in the first round.

“He’s a good player,” said Nagano, when asked to comment on his Malaysian opponent who won the silver medal in the 2017 SEA Games.

“I feel nervous before the match but I did my best to beat him,” said Nagano, a senior economics student at the Teikyo University in Tokyo.

Last year in the SEA Games, Nagano settled for the bronze medal after he was eliminated by Indonesia’s Mohammad Raharjo, who eventually won the event for the second straight time.

Raharjo, meanwhile, has bowed out of the competition after losing to Taijistan’s Yokubdzhon Bokiev, 1-10, in the second round.

In boxing, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Felix Marcial will try to reach the semifinal round in their respective categories at the Jakarta International Exhibition Center in Kemayoran, north of Jakarta City.

Paalam will be up against Kazakhstan’s Temirtas Zhussupov in the men’s light flyweight (46kg to 49kg) class.

Marcial, on the other hand, will face South Korea’s Kim Jin-jea in the men’s middleweight (75kg) class.

If Paalam and Marcial win, they will assure the Philippines of two more bronze medals as Olympian Roger Ladon also made it to the Final Four in the men’s flyweight (52kg) class.

The 25-year-old Ladon, who hails from Bago City, Negros Occidental, scored a 3-2 victory over Kazkhstan’s Azat Mahmetov in their quarterfinal bout on Tuesday night.

Ladon, who placed ninth in the 2016 Rio Olympics, will be up against Thailand’s Yuttapong Tongdee, who prevailed over Mongolia’s Gan-Erdene Gankhuyag, 3-2.