Filipino karatekas Ysabella Arwen Varias and Carl Caruana narrowly missed podium finishes after losing their respective bronze medal matches Saturday in the Karate One-Youth League presented by the Philippine Sports Commission at SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Despite falling short of medals, the two emerged as the country’s best performers after three days of competition in the international tournament sanctioned by the World Karate Federation and organized by the Karate Pilipinas Sports Federation.
Varias reached the repechage round after stunning WKF-1’s Mariaa Sereda, 1-0, in her opening match. But the 15-year-old Paco Catholic School student struggled with nerves in the bronze medal bout and bowed to Romania’s Momanu Alexandra, 0-4, in the cadet kumite female -61-kilogram division. The event was also backed by the Philippine Olympic Committee.
"Nakaka-verwhelm po na makasali dito sa tournament kasi lahat ng kalaban magagaling (It feels overwhelming to compete in this tournament because all of the opponents are really good)," said Varias, who fought through four preliminary matches before reaching the bronze medal bout in the repechage round.
She admitted that jitters affected her performance in the bronze medal match, especially after her strong showing against the Russian opponent earlier in the tournament.
Coach Oliver Manalac said Varias became tentative during the match and failed to use her nervous energy positively against the Romanian fighter. Still, he believes the young karateka will learn from the experience and grow stronger in future international competitions.
Manalac also noted that competing in both kata and kumite may have contributed to Varias’ slow start, as the two disciplines require different muscle movements and timing.
Meanwhile, Caruana absorbed a 1-9 defeat to WKF-1’s Levon Shaishian in the junior kumite male +76-kilogram bronze medal match.
Despite the setback, the 17-year-old fighter remained grateful for the opportunity to compete on the international stage after his family worked hard to fund his trip to Manila.
"Mataas talaga yung kalaban kaya mahirap tamaan. But I am proud that I was able to get here (My opponent was really tall, so it was difficult to score. But I’m proud that I made it this far)," Caruana said.
Fighting back tears, he dedicated his campaign to his parents, who borrowed money to support his participation in the tournament and travel by sea from their province to Manila.
The Karate One-Youth League also received support from the Philippine Olympic Committee, the SM Group of Companies, and Lanson Place.
