Junna Tsukii bagged the country’s first gold medal in the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama Friday (Saturday in Manila) after ruling the women’s -50kg division.
The 30-year-old Fil-Japanese prevailed over Yorgelis Salazar of Venezuela, 2-0, to capture the gold to become the first medalist in this edition.
It was a revenge of sorts for Tsukii after losing to Salazar, 8-1, in the group stage.
Prior to her gold-medal feat, Tsukii bested Miho Miyahara of Japan, 4-3, in the semifinals.
Her other group stage results include a 6-4 win over Germany’s Shara Hubrich and a 3-3 loss over Spain’s Gema Ozuna Morales.
Tsukii also became the second gold medalist in the World Games after billiards champion Carlo Biado won the 9-ball men’s singles gold in the 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland.