7-yr-old leads PH grappling dominance in Japan

Reacting swiftly to the referee’s cue, Brielle Bartolome fiercely rushed to the opposing side and held Peng Nian in an armbar to force a submission out of her Chinese foe right in the opening round.

The ruthless grappler from Mandaluyong City later prevailed by points over hometown bet Nishimoto Wakana to pick up her second gold medal at the Sports Jiu-jitsu International Federation World Championship in Nagoya, Japan.

Bartolome is a ruthless grappling wonder. And she’s just 7.

“It is with great pride and honor to see our Philippine Junior Grappling Team show the world how good they really are,’’ said Wrestling Association of the Philippines president Alvin Aguilar.

Bartolome wasn’t alone in her gallant feat following victories in the Gi and No Gi events of the kindergarten featherweight class.

She’s the biggest draw among the 16 other Filipino youngsters who shone in the tournament.

‘The future’

Clinching victories in all of his fights via submission, Marcus Dela Cruz stole the show from China’s Ma Haisen in the final of the youth light featherweight No Gi category, while Thiago Bartolome was supreme in the preteen No Gi middleweight class by submitting his foe in the gold-medal matchup.

Cesca Lepiten likewise sparkled by snaring the youth Gi featherweight title while siblings Tessa Joson, Ali Joson and Tomas Joson were unstoppable in claiming the crown in the junior teen featherweight, kindergarten No Gi rooster weight and youth rooster weight divisions, respectively.

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“These kids displayed the hard work that they’ve put in during training for them to reach the top,’’ said Aguilar, also the Universal Reality Combat Championship founder and president. “They are the future of our grappling team.’’

Ethan Ramos (preteen lightweight), Uno Ordona (preteen medium heavyweight) and Claudia Lepiten (toddler Gi light featherweight) were also part of the tournament.

The Philippines won a total of 16 gold medals in the meet where grapplers from countries like the United States, Japan, South Korea and Brazil participated.