SEA Games kickboxing gold medalist Gina Iniong to use incentive for training

Gina Iniong is planning to put her Southeast Asian Games incentive to good use as she braces for her first fight in 2020 against India's Asha Roka at ONE: Fire & Fury on January 31 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Filipina atomweight from Team Lakay won a gold medal in kickboxing at the recently concluded 2019 SEA Games held in the country. 

According to Iniong, a portion of the P850,000 incentive shall be used in preparation for her next appearance inside the cage.

"I'm planning to use some of the funds to help with my training and also save up because I want to put up a business," said Iniong.

"I'm yet to figure out what business. For now, my focus is on my next fight," she added.

Much sacrifice has been made by Iniong to win the gold at the biennial sports meet. For one, the recently married Team Lakay fighter had to put her honeymoon on hold so she can focus on training.

It is a sacrifice she has to make all over again after she signed to compete in a mixed martial arts match in less than a couple of months.

"I'll be back straight to training. I just got back to MMA so I want to focus on that. My husband is very understanding of what I do," she said.

"Coach Mark Sangiao also asked me to skip my holiday plans for now because I have a fight coming up," the athlete said.

Iniong's confidence is also soaring at an all-time high after her successful SEA Games stint, as she vowed to showcase her finest form yet in Manila.

"My confidence has doubled after I won gold at the SEA Games because my hardship in training came to fruition," Iniong stressed.

"I plan to do the same for my next fights," she vowed.

As for her honeymoon, Iniong merely stated that it is going to take the backseat for now.

"My honeymoon can wait. My next fight is going to be exciting because fans would witness a leveled up version of Gina Iniong," she said. —KG, GMA News