MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ medal hopes were halted on the third day of the Karate One-Youth League Manila at the Mall of Asia Arena, as Ysabella Arwen Varias and Carl Caruana both fell short in their respective bronze medal matches.
Both athletes kept their campaigns alive through the repechage rounds after early losses in the main draw, but were unable to convert their final push into podium finishes.
Varias, who began her run with an upset victory over WKF-1’s Mariaa Sereda, lost 0–4 to Romania’s Momanu Alexandra in the cadet kumite female -61kg bronze medal bout. After grinding through several repechage matches, she struggled to find rhythm against an opponent who controlled the match from the start.
“It’s overwhelming being here because all the opponents are good,” Varias said. “I was a bit nervous during the bronze medal match so I couldn’t do what I did in my first match.”
Caruana also came up short in the junior kumite male +76kg division, falling 1–9 to WKF-1’s Levon Shaishian in his bronze medal match. The Filipino fighter was unable to match his opponent’s pace as Shaishian built an early lead and maintained control throughout.
“The opponent is tall so it’s hard to hit him, but I am proud that I was able to get here,” Caruana said.
Despite the setbacks, both athletes were among the stronger Philippine performers in the three-day tournament sanctioned by the World Karate Federation and organized by Karate Pilipinas Sports Federation, Inc., and presented by the Philippine Sports Commission.