SOUTHEAST Asian Games gold medalists Junna Tsukii and Jamie Lim begin their campaign in the World Karate Federation World Championships on Wednesday at the Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
But Tsukii and Lim will only know their first opponents after the draw that were scheduled late Tuesday.
Lim will take the mat first at 9 a.m. in the -61 kgs class while Tsukii will compete later at 5:30 p.m. in the -50 kgs category both of women’s kumite, according to Ricky Lim, president of Karate Pilipinas which was formally recognized by the World Karate Federation its congress on Tuesday.
Turkish coach Okay Arpa told BusinessMirror in a message that the 30-year-old Filipino-Japanese Tsukii is one of the favorites because of her No. 2 world ranking.
“Junna [Tsukii] is a well-known successful name in her category in the world and she has beaten many world champions,” Arpa said. “She is one of the favorites.”
Lim, on the other hand, draws her motivation from her foiled bid at the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers last June in Paris where she beat 2016 world champion Alisa Buchinger of Austria.
“I think that victory was the result of a determined, faithful and disciplined work process and is a great source of motivation for her,” Arpa said.
Dagupan City pride Joco Vasquez, meanwhile, will showcase his kata skills on at 9 a.m. (Dubai time) on Thursday followed by 2019 SEA Games bronze medalist Sarah Pangilinan at 1:30 p.m.