By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipina-Japanese karate athlete Junna Tsukii stood out the most and clinched the gold medal during the recently concluded 2021 Karate1 Premier League in Cairo, Egypt.
Tsukii impressed in the women’s kumite -50kg event category and was able to negate the home court advantage enjoyed by home bet Areeg Rashed in the grand finals.
The Filipina karateka broke the 1-1 tie after connecting on a crucial punch with just six seconds left in the match to tally her second Premier League gold medal after winning her first in Lisbon, Portugal four months ago.
It was a tough road to the grand finals for Tsukii after defeating big names in the sport such as Aleksandra Grujic of Austria, Venezuela’s Yorgelis Salazar, and Ahmed Saleema of Egypt.
The momentum-boosting championship campaign Tsukii had in Egypt increased her total gold medal tally to three this 2021.
Aside from her back-to-back gold medals in the Premier League held at Egypt and Portugal, Tsukii recently also reigned supreme in the Golden Belt Tournament in Cacak, Serbia.
