Alexandria Enriquez may have fallen short of gold in her first Asian Games appearance, but the Filipina jiu-jitsu standout is already looking ahead after securing a historic silver medal in the women’s under-63kgs division.
Enriquez saw her dominant run end against Thailand’s Orapa Senatham in the gold-medal match, but gave full credit to her opponent for finding a way to neutralize her strengths.
“I think my opponent was just better than me today at that very match. Hopefully, in the future, I’ll get it back,” she said.
The Filipina said she felt physically ready despite dealing with injuries leading into the competition, refusing to use them as an excuse for the defeat.
“I was feeling great, you know. The body was feeling good. Thank God we have such amazing PTs on the team because I’ve had some injuries leading up to it, but no excuses,” Enriquez added.
The jiu-jitsu artist tried to bring the fight into her preferred game as Senatham made it difficult for her to establish control.
“They know me as a wrestler, as a guard passer, but she’s strong. She’s good. She’s a good top fighter,” she added.
Unable to consistently get to Senatham’s legs, Enriquez mixed up her approach and emptied her gas tank in the final minute searching for an opening.
“In that last minute, I was pushing everything I had in the gas tank to try to make a position happen,” she explained.
Despite the disappointment of missing out on gold, Enriquez believes the silver is only the beginning of her Asian Games journey.
“It’s not gonna be the last time you guys see me. So hopefully, in the future, we’ll get that gold back,” she said. (Jesus Nathaniel Valdez)
