Photo courtesy of POC Media
BANGKOK — For judoka Chino Sy Tancontian, winning a gold medal in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games boosts his bid towards a bigger goal.
Sy added it to his SEA Games medals, after topping the men's –100kg class at the Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi in Pathum Thani.
The 24-year-old already won gold in the 2019 edition of the regional meet, as well as silver in wrestling two years ago.
Sy beat Gede Ganding Kalbu Soethama of Indonesia via ippon to claim the country's first judo gold in the 2025 SEA Games.
It was an early gift for the Davaoeño, who celebrates his birthday on December 18.
For the UAAP judoka champion, the win moves him closer to his dream to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"Siyempre yun po yung every athlete's dream. And ngayon po sa isang step na ito, isang malaking step towards my dream, uunti-unti ko po yung pagtrabaho para abutin yung pangarap," he told Philippine Olympic Committee Media on Saturday.
"Hindi lang para sa akin, para sa family ko, para sa Philippines. Gusto ko pa talaga makaapak sa Olympic stage," Sy added.
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The 24-year-old, who also does sambo and wrestling, said he will be locked in on judo as he chases the Olympic dream.
Sy said he will head to Taiwan for a training camp next year as he prepares for the Olympic qualifiers.
"Ngayon po I will focus on judo in the coming years hanggang sa makapag-qualify po hopefully for the Olympics," he said.
Philippine Judo Federation president Ali Sulit lauded Sy's achievement, as well as judo –81 kg silver medalist John Viron Ferrer.
"I'm very pleased. I'm coming from gratitude. Pasasalamat lang talaga. Nakita naman natin binigay lahat ng atleta natin yung makakaya nila. Chino got all the way, got the gold for us, got it for his name, got it for his family, got it for our country," he told POC Media.
"The road is still long. There are many things to prepare for for Chino and the rest of his teammates. Nagoya [Asian Games] is coming up and LA Olympics is coming. It's a new breed of athletes in judo. This is the time for us to shine again," Sulit added.
The last time the Philippines sent a male judoka to the Olympics was in 2016, when Kodo Nakano represented the country at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games.
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