Marie June Adriano captures Asian Games karate bronze for Philippines

ASM, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
September 25, 2026

photo courtesy: Marie June Adriano | Facebook

TOYOHASHI CITY, Japan — Filipina karateka Marie June Adriano bounced back from a narrow semifinal loss to win bronze in the women’s kumite -50kg division at the 2026 Asian Games.

The 22-year-old defeated Chinese Taipei’s Ya-chi Chung, 10-3, in the bronze-medal match, securing her first Asian Games medal in her debut appearance. 

Adriano had come within one point of advancing to the final after losing to Hong Kong’s Tsang Yee Ting, 5-4, in the semifinals.

She responded strongly in the bronze bout. After Chung tied the match at 3-3 with an ippon, Adriano scored seven unanswered points to close out the 10-3 victory.

The win also ended a run of two previous losses to Chung.

“Pangatlong beses na po naming nagharap,” Adriano said.

She said she entered the bronze-medal match determined to trust the techniques and preparation she had built during training.

“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. 

Adriano opened her campaign with a 4-3 victory over Cambodia’s Srey Phea Chonn before shutting out South Korea’s Yang Yewon, 4-0, to reach the semifinals.

The medal added another achievement to the young karateka’s international career.

Adriano is a native of Llanera, Nueva Ecija and a Human Kinetics student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. She had already reached the podium at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games, where she won bronze in the same women’s -50kg kumite division. 

Her Asian Games appearance also came after what she described as a difficult path to earning a place on the Philippine team.

“My journey to compete here was very difficult because there was no assurance that I would be selected,” Adriano said.

She added that winning a medal in her first Asian Games was especially meaningful after earning the opportunity to represent the country.

“I was able to prove that I’m worthy of being here after contributing a medal for our country. This is my first Asian Games and, as a young athlete, this is quite overwhelming,” she said.

Adriano’s bronze became the Philippines’ fifth medal overall at that point in the Games and the country’s second in karate.

A day earlier, Rebecca Cyril Torres, Ysabielle Arrogante and Samantha Emmanuelle Veguillas won bronze in the women’s team kata. 

For Adriano, the podium finish marked another step forward after her SEA Games bronze and a strong response to the one-point semifinal defeat that kept her out of the Asian Games final.