Estimar gives RP 2nd gold in Asian Martial Arts Games

Mary Jane Estimar gave the Philippines its second gold medal in the wushu competition of the 1st Asian Martial Arts Games on Saturday at the Silpa-Archa Building in Suphanburi Sport Center in Bangkok, Thailand. Estimar, a 2008 Beijing Olympics silver medalist, posted a 2-0 win over Myanmar’s Si Si Sein of Myanmar to win the title in the women’s sanshou 52-kilogram division. This is the second gold by Filipino competitors in the tournament following Jeff Figueroa's golden feat in taekwondo. Figueroa won the gold in the men’s bantamweight category of this 41-nation tilt. “I tried to be methodical and anticipate all of her attacks," said the 27-year old Estimar. “We met in Beijing (Olympics) last year and I won over her in the Round of 8. I just did what I have to do to win it for my country." As of this posting, Mark Ediva and Mariane Mariano were in the thick of the fight versus Junyong Zhang and Jingjing Gao of China in the finals of the men’s sanshou 65-kg category and women’s sanshou 60-kg, respectively. If Ediva and Mariano are successful, Team Philippines can still go up in the final standings despite of the losses by Dembert Arcita in the semifinals of the 52-kg men’s and muay artist Zaidi Laruan in the men’s lightweight division. Laruan lost to Kwangkhwang Weerapol of Thailand in the finals of the men’s 57-60-kg division. Currently the Philippines is at 12th with two gold, four silver and nine bronze medals. Host Thailand has stormed ahead and is now on top of the standings after winning nine gold medals in muay and three more in jujitsu. The Thai bets have collected 19 gold, 13 silver and 16 bronze medals. Kazakhstan remains in second with a 13-7-11 haul while Korea is at third with its nine gold medals. – Perry Legaspi, GMANews.TV