Annie Ramirez beats fellow Filipina Emily Thomas to win Asian Beach Games gold

Annie Ramirez delivered the country's third gold medal at the 2026 Asian Beach Games after ruling the jiu-jitsu women's -75kg category on Friday night in Sanya, China.

The 35-year-old Ramirez, though, had to do it at the expense of compatriot Emily Thomas as they squared off in an all-Filipino finals.

Shamsa Alameri of UAE and Shurentsetseg Ehnkhmukh of Mongolia, meanwhile, both settled for bronze. 

On the way to the gold medal, the multi-titled Ramirez first earned a Round of 32 bye before defeating Mengqi Zhang of China in the Round of 16. She then soared past Abreen Tariq of Pakistan and Ehnkhmukh in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. 

Ramirez' gold medal feat secured the Philippines its third mint in the competition after Leonard Grospe in high jump and Alexandria Enriquez also in jiu-jitsu.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News