HANGZHOU, China — Jenna Kaila Napolis banked on her presence of mind in defeating Hessa Alshamsi of the United Arab Emirates to pocket the bronze medal in the women’s 52-kilogram jiu-jitsu event of the 19th Asian Games at the Xiaoshan Linpu Gymnasium here.
Napolis, a gold medalist in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, displayed tremendous grace under pressure in reversing the outcome of her match against a familiar foe.
She was down in the early stretch of the match until turning things around that threw her opponent out of control.
“Control and presence of mind helped me win,” the 26-year-old Napolis said after her 4-2 win over the gritty Emirati.
“Sometimes, I have a mental block and I don’t know what to do. But before our match, I listened to my coach and executed our game plan. I was down early but when I got the chance, I didn’t let go of my control in her head. I know that if I let go, she might explode and win the match.”
Napolis, who is set to compete in the World Martial Arts Games, flaunted her strength early on to advance to the bronze medal round.
She beat Kristina Zhurabekova in the Round of 16, 2-0, before clobbering Park Jeonghye of South Korea in the quarterfinals, 2-0.
