The Philippines’ karate champion Junna Tsukii has climbed to No. 8 in the latest rankings released by the World Karate Federation (WKF), strengthening her bid to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Tsukii jumped to the top 8 spot of the new rankings in the female kumite -50 kilogram category after winning her first gold medal at the WKF Premier League in Portugal.
The national karateka shared the news of her improvement in the world rankings via Facebook on May 6, 2021.
“World ranking #8,” Junna Tsukii wrote in the Facebook post, followed by a Philippine flag emoji.
Tsukii, the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games karate gold medalist for the Philippines, bears 4447.50 points after she earned 990 points from winning the Lisbon Premier League in Portugal. Prior to the tournament, she was at the 10th rank overall in the WKF ranking and the fifth-best karateka in her division in Asia.
The Filipino Japanese karateka beat Kazakhstan’s Moldir Zhangbyrbay, 2-0, in the final round of the tournament. In the semifinals, Tsukii humbled two-time World champion Alexandra Recchia of France, winning the bout 2-0.
Junna Tsukii will next compete in the final Olympic qualifier in Paris, France, this June, alongside other national athletes Jamie Lim and Joan Orbon.
Tsukii earlier won a gold medal in the 2021 Golden Belt Tournament held in Cacak, Serbia.
Tsukii aims to be the next Filipino athlete to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics after champion rower Cris Nievarez, the 8th national athlete to join the Philippine delegation to the quadrennial summer games scheduled to be held in Japan.
SEND CONGRATULATIONS to the Philippines’ Junna Tsukii who has climbed to No. 8 in the World Karate Federation (WKF) rankings in her bid for a spot in the Tokyo Olympics.
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