Karatekas Bejar and Soriano claim silver and bronze in 2017 SEA Games

MANILA, Philippines－ John Paul Bejar and Mae Soriano delivered two more medals for the Philippine karate team when they bagged silver and bronze, respectively, in the 2017 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on Wednesday, August 23, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia.

Bejar, 22, finished second in the men’s kumite -55kg division after bowing to Indonesia’s Iwan Bidu Sirait, 10-4, in the gold medal match Wednesday afternoon.

Veteran karateka Mae Soriano, on the other hand, salvaged a bronze medal finish after edging out Myanmar’s April Phaw, 4-3, in the women’s kumite -55kg division.

Soriano, 35, previously won silver in the 2013 edition of the biennial contest in Myanmar. Karate was not played in the Singapore Games two years ago.

Fellow karatekas John Michael Badil, Miyuki Tacay, and Sharief Afif meanwhile qualified for bronze medal matches, but all missed out on podium finishes.

Badil dropped his -75 kg match-up against Thailand, while Afif fell to his Indonesian opponent in men’s kumite above 75 kg. Tacay also failed to snatch the bronze after succumbing to her Malaysian opponent in women’s kumite -68 kg. – Rappler.com