Butler closes out PH Youth Games campaign with jiujitsu gold

Isabella Joseline Butler gains dominant position against Aysha Aljneibi. —POC POOL PHOTO

SAKHIR, BAHRAIN—A gold by Isabella Joseline Butler in the girls’ 63 kilogram (kg) division of jiujitsu on Thursday put a shining end to the Philippine campaign in the Asian Youth Games here as the 17-year-old applied a collar choke on the United Arab Emirates’ Aysha Aljneibi to win by submission.

Butler, now based in Huntington Beach, California, had control for most of the match and went on to win the seventh gold for the country of her birth as she now trains her sights on joining the adult national team and seeing action for the Philippines in the coming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand.

“We found that there was a way to represent the Philippines through the sport that I love, and I’m grateful I got the chance to do so,” Butler said. “I plan to try out for the adult team next year and compete at the SEA Games.”

On her path to gold, Butler beat Uzbekistan’s Ziyoda Shomurodova, 4-0, in the semifinals after defeating Thailand’s Maria Elissavet Kokkoliou, 4-0, in the quarterfinals and submitted Kazakhstan’s Ayaulym Dossymzhankyzy in the Round of 16.

“I was able to get to my controlling positions at closed guard, which I love, and I was able to work from there,” Butler said. “All of the stuff that I’ve been doing in training, working on close guard and attacks from there as well as my lapel guard, which I was able to display today, that was really cool.”

Kram Airam Carpio won the Philippines’ first gold medal, topping the pencak silat, girls’ 51-55 kg, while also delivering gold for the national team were Charlie Ratcliff in modern MMA (girls’ 45 kg), Pi Durden Wangkay in athletics (boys’ 200 meter), Lyre Anie Ngina (muay, girls’ wai kru 14-15), Zeth Gabriel Bueno (muay, boys’ wai kru 14-15) and the pair of Jan Brix Ramiscal & Tyron Jamborillo (muay, mixed team mai muay).

Meanwhile, 15-year-old Mara Alexandria Sarinas added a bronze in the girls’ 57 kg jiujitsu division after a submission win over Thailand’s Prasita Rumakom.

All told, Team PH will go home with a medal haul of seven gold, seven silver and 10 bronze medals, good for 12 spot in the 45-nation meet.