Grade 4D Lady Archer Wins 2 Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal in International Karate Tournament
Written by Juan Carlos Veguillas, DLSZ Karatedo Varsity Team CoachÂ
Last December 14-17, 2013, Sakura Alforte (DLSZ 2020) joined the 25-man Philippine Contingent represented by the Association for the Advancement of Karatedo (AAK) in the Kobe Osaka International (KOI) Karate Open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Team Philippines won a total of 8 Golds, 4 Silvers and 13 Bronze medals placing them 4th overall.
The KOI – Karate Open is a prestigious International Championships dating back to the 1980’s with country member from all over Europe, South America, Oceania and Asia. This year’s championships was participated by over 400 athletes all from the Asian region with powerhouse countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Iran in attendance.
Morning events started off with the youth Kata (forms) categories wherein Sakura Alforte was able to grab a Silver medal to start her medal campaign ousting Iran, Indonesia and Malaysia on her way to the finals.
Not a stranger to international competition (Champion- adidas Karate Cup- Nagoya, Japan April, 2012) Sakura Alforte showed her champion form winning Gold in the Girls 10-11 Years Old Kumite (Sparring). Sakura went on to beat top seeds from countries like Iran, and Malaysia despite the big height differential using great speed and timing to outclass all opponents.
To cap the days end, Sakura Alforte, a member of the Philippine Synchronize Kata Team would win another Gold medal in the 10-12 Year Old Mixed Gender Synchronize Kata. The Synchronized Team is composed of 3 AAK students in Metro Manila: Sakura Alforte from De La Salle Zobel, Krisanta Renzel Asistido from OB Montessori School, in Sta. Ana, Manila, and Adam Bondoc from Xavier School. This team has been training over the weekends together and has been formed since the start of the school year and is the current local Champion in the 9-11 Years Old Mixed Gender Team Kata.
Sakura Alforte is a member of the DLSZ Karatedo Varsity Team who is coached by Juan Carlos “Chino” Veguillas, DLSZ Batch 88 and assisted by Paolo Nicolas Veguillas. The DLSZ Karated Team trains at the Martial Arts Hall.
