Phl taolu team victorious in Texas

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ Mark Lester Ragay, Mark Anthony Polo and Vincent Ventura delivered the country’s lone gold medal in the World Wushu Championships in Fort Worth, Texas by ruling the men’s team taolu (form) last Monday.

Ragay, Polo and Ventura garnered 9.616 points to barely snatch the mint ahead of Brunei’s Majdurano Joel Bin Majallah, Sain and Abel Wee Yuen Lim with a 9.613, and Spain’s Nestor Urzainqui Milla, Aidan Pose Martinez and Victor de la Plaza Schineper with a 9.433.

The golden feat saved the day for the Filipinos after Jennifer Kilapio, Clemente Tabugara Jr. and Hangzhou Asian Games silver medalist Arnel Mandal missed out on their golden chances following defeats in the finals of their respective divisions in the sanda (fighting) events.

Kilapio succumbed to Vietnam’s Len Nguyen Thi, 2-1, in the 48-kilogram class, Tabugara fell to China’s Wei Guo, 2-0, in the 65kg while Mandal got the boot from another Chinese Tang Sishuo via gap point in the 52kg and settled for a silver each.

Despite the stinging defeats, the Philippines still went on to scoop up a total medal haul of one gold, four silver and a bronze, good for a solid seventh among 72 countries.

It eclipsed the one-gold, one-silver and two-bronze harvest in the last edition in Shanghai, China four years ago.

Russel Diaz accounted for the lone bronze after a semis defeat to Chinese Yang Zingmen, 2-0, in the 48kg.