Tsukii to get P1 million incentive for World Games crown

MANILA, Philippines — Fil-Japanese karateka Junna Tsukii will receive P1 million as incentive from the government for striking gold in the World Games in Birmingham, United States.

Philippine Sports Commission officer-in-charge Atty. Guillermo Iroy said the reward will come from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Tsukii is the first Filipino athlete to receive such incentive under the leadership of President Marcos.

Meanwhile, world pool champion Carlo Biado is in the running for the same incentive, having barged into the quarterfinals of the men’s 9-ball event following an 11-10 win over Wiktor Zielinski of Poland yesterday.

Biado, who copped gold in Wroclaw, Poland five years ago, capped his triumph with an impressive 1-9 combination that arranged a quarterfinal showdown with fellow world champion Albin Ouschan of Austria, who turned back Aden Carl Joseph of South Africa, 11-8.

Another Filipino world champion, Rubilen Amit, launches her own campaign as she squares off with German national champion Pia Filler in the women’s 9-ball event today.

Amit was fresh from her double-gold feat (9-ball and 10-ball) in last May’s Hanoi Southeast Asian Games.

In another development, Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino yesterday said the country has earned the right to host the 2033 Southeast Asian Games, or 14 years after the country’s successful hosting of the 2019 edition.

“We offered a bid to host anew in 2033 and the council unanimously approved,” said Tolentino, referring to last Wednesday’s SEA Games Federation Council Meeting in Phnom Penh where next year’s 32nd edition of the games will be staged.