Injured Ochoa plods on to win PH’s 2nd gold in Asian Games

Hangzhou—Fighting hurt, but with God as her motivation, Margarita “Meggie” Ochoa delivered the Philippines’ second gold in the 19th Asian Games by defeating a familiar foe in United Arab Emirates’ Balqees Abdulla in the 48kg ju-jitsu finals at the XSL Gymnasium JJI Mat 1 here on Thursday.

A two-time World Champion, the 33-year-old Ochoa used her vast experience to frustrate Abdulla, a previous training partner, winning a scoreless finale by submission and advantage.

“Ang mga nakakalaban ko, nire-research ko talaga sila. Ito, familiar ako, kasi naka training ko siya, magkasama kami sa training camp,” said Ochoa of her opponent.

Ochoa said the finale could have gone either way, but it was she who did just enough to get the nod of the judges.

“Alam ko kaya ko siyang talunin, pero kaya din niya ako talunin kasi nagte-training kami together,” said Ochoa, who won the world title twice in the Women’s Ne-Waza System, last year in UAE (48kgs), and then five years ago in Sweden (49kgs).

Ochoa opened her campaign in the Asiad with a 50-0 submission win over Mongolia’s

Odgerel Batbayar, before pulling off the same emphatic victory over Kazakhstan’s Nazgul Rakhayeva.

It was in the semifinals, though, where she got hurt in a scrambling 4-2 triumph over Thailand’s Pechrada Kacie Tan.

“Sobrang dami ko pinagdaanan leading to this day. Nagka-trangkaso ako at may injury na ako iniinda noon pa. Sa semis, na-injure pa ako ulet. I was not 100 percent the entire time (in the finals), pero nakagamot naman, kaya kinaya naman,” said Ochoa, complaining of pain in her hip.

But she plodded on in the finals and dominated her foe with her aggression to win by advantage.

“Palagi naman may pressure, pero hindi ko iniisip ang pressure kapag lumalaban ako. Ang iniisip ko lang, I want to give glory to the Lord,” said Ochoa. “’Yan ‘yung nag-iisang thing on my mind at inuulit-ulit ko sa sarili ko before each match.”

The gold raised the Philippines’ gold-silver-bronze tally to 2-1-9 at 22nd place overall and will net Ochoa a P2million windfall based on the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act.