The Muntinlupa City government congratulated Shugen Pablo Nakano for winning a gold medal in judo at the 31st Southeast Asian Games being held in Vietnam.
“Galing ng Munti athletes. Binabati ng Pamahalaang Lungsod ng Muntinlupa si Shugen Nakano para sa kanyang tagumpay sa 31st SEA Games sa Vietnam (Munti athletes are great. The Muntinlupa City government congratulates Shugen Nakano for his triumph at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam),” the city government posted on Facebook.
Nakano won a gold medal in the Men’s 66 kg. finals, defeating Vietnamese judoka Hoang Phuc. His win brought the country’s second gold medal in judo.
Shugen is the other half of the Nakano twin brothers. Shugen and Keisei Pablo Nakano are both Japanese-Filipino judokas.
“We hold citizenship in the Philippines and are currently representing the country in Judo and aiming for the Olympics. Kodo Nakano, who is a coach and the twins’ brother, represented the Philippines in Judo at the 2016 Rio Olympics. We travel to compete around the world,” according to the website of the Nakano twins.
They added, “We continue our athletic and social activities for the sake of the Philippines, our second home, and for the future of the mixed-race athletes.”
“When I represented the Philippines in the Olympics as a half-blooded Filipino, I experienced various forms of discrimination,” Shugen wrote on their website.
He added, “Despite all of those, I want to show to them my potential through Judo and for the sake of the other people of mixed-race who have the same heartbreaking experiences as mine, I hope that I am able to inspire and move their hearts however little this is.”
“As a professional player of two different cultures and races, my ambition is to find solutions to social issues in the Philippines while conveying Japanese culture and compete against the world with gratitude and pride in my heart,” he said.
The Muntinlupa City government previously congratulated Muntinlupa athletes Carlo Biado for winning a silver medal in the Men's 9-Ball Pool Singles and Annie Ramirez for clinching a gold medal in Jiu-jitsu-Women’s Under 62 kg category at the SEA Games.