With Olympic stage now just a dream, Junna Tsukii chases glory where she can

MANILA, Philippines–Junna Tsukii felt vindicated after a victory at the World Games last year washed away the disappointment of watching an opportunity that slipped away in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

And even after the euphoria of that bounce-back triumph waned, the Filipino-Japanese karateka found renewed confidence to hunt down more titles from overseas meets, with the forthcoming 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia one of her obsessions.

“The World Games served as a purpose for me to get back on my feet after not being able to compete in the Olympics,’’ said Tsukii, who moved to Japan with her parents at the age of three and picked up the combat sport at her father’s own dojo at seven years old.

It wasn’t only missing the Olympics right in her territory that fired up the 31-year-old Tsukii’s need for redemption.

Prior to Tsukii’s exploits in the World Games in Birmingham, United States, the 2019 SEA Games champion in the women’s 50kg kumite didn’t like the way her campaign in the Vietnam edition of the regional meet last year turned out after exiting right in the first round against hometown bet Dinh Thi Huong.

And every drop of victory in the sport is crucial now for Tsukii.

“After Tokyo, karate is already out of the Olympics and the World Games had become the pinnacle of competition,’’ said Tsukii.

Struck off of the 2024 Paris Summer Games calendar, karate won’t be around at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as well, denying Tsukii the shot at experiencing the splendor of the biggest sports spectacle on the planet as an athlete.

SEA GAMES PREPS

So she takes in any international meet she can and tracks down glory there.

“My preparations (for the SEA Games) are going well,’’ said Tsukii, who trained in Serbia last February and now is at the tail end of her foreign workout in Turkey.

She will return to Manila on April 28 with the men’s and women’s kumite squads before flying to Cambodia for the karate competitions scheduled May 6 to 8.

Karate Pilipinas Inc. president Ricky Lim will send 11 kumite fighters and eight kata performers to Phnom Penh, with high hopes for a better output than the team’s medal haul of eight bronzes in the Vietnam edition.

The kata squad honed their skills for three weeks in Okinawa, Japan, with help coming from the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee while the kumite team set up camp in Istanbul.

Lim said they’re targeting at least three gold medals as the other countries watch out for Tsukii and Jamie Lim, a silver medalist in the Asian karate championships along with Tsukii.

Tsukii ruled her division in the Southeast Karate Federation Championships last month, a tournament that practically has the same competitors as the SEA Games.

“I am working on further analyzing and training with these women, so I think I can pull off a better performance this time,’’ said Tsukii, whose mother, Lilia Villanueva, comes from Pasay City. Her father, Shin Tsukii, is a Japanese coach.

With her rivals attuned to her fighting style, Tsukii made an effort to modify her approach.

“My opponents are definitely assessing me, so I made some changes,’’ she said. “I already worked on my technique enough. Now, I just need to lose weight going into the fight, because it is very important to stay in shape.’’

Trying to keep a good balance between training and rest, Tsukii normally trains two to three hours per day and takes the day off once or twice a week depending on the demands and the conditions.

“In my free time, I often watch the videos of my opponents and analyze them. I also review my own moves,’’ said Tsukii, who normally hits the sack at 10 in the evening.

After the SEA Games, Tsukii will venture into the Premier League set in Japan prior to the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in September and the 2023 World Karate Championships from Oct. 24-29 in Budapest, Hungary.

“The SEA Games is always very exciting because it is a tournament where we Filipinos are competing as a team,’’ said Tsukii, a bronze medalist in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.

She tried her luck at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Paris, France, in June 2021, hoping to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, but got eliminated in her first match by Bulgaria’s Ivet Goranova.

“I learned a lot from that tournament and applied them at the World Games,’’ said Tsukii.

On the day of her fight at the SEA Games, she knows exactly what to do to reclaim her title.

“I just believe in the things that I have done and will try to relax. I’m always grateful and challenge myself every time I’m on the big stage,’’ said Tsukii.

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