SAMANTHA Veguillas has begun to follow in the footsteps of her father after winning the individual kata in karate at the ongoing 8th Women’s Martial Arts Festival 2022 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The 19-year-old Veguillas defeated Joan Denise Lumbao, her teammate at the Association for the Advancement of Karate, by a slim margin after scoring 23.20 points against Lumbao’s 22.80 on Day 2 of the multi-contact sports event organized by the Philippine Sports Commission.

Veguillas is the daughter of former karate champion Chino Veguillas, a team kata gold medalist in the 1993 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

Featuring the nation’s finest women athletes in 11 sports, the WMA is being streamed live on the PSC’s YouTube channel and the PSC WMA Festival FB page.

The six-day festival for the finest Filipino women martial arts athletes is supported by Pocari Sweat and Go21.

Princess Nicole Ramirez ruled the -50kg Kumite after defeating Rochelle Dano while Ma. Yvonne German toppled Marie June Adriano in the -55kg finals of the competition that serves as the initial tuneup and countdown to the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Thailand exactly a year after the WMA’s closing ceremony.

The trio of Fatima A-Isha Lim Hamsain, Baby Angel Lamore, and Christina Colonia of Maharlika Karatedo of the Philippines, clinched the gold medal in the team kata with a score of 22.20 points.

They outperformed MKPI/CLSU JKS-MKKPI’s Marie June Adriano, Jerahmeel Pedines Trases, and Julie Mae Bonifacio, who compiled 20.20 points.

Over at the Judo Training Center, Helen Aclopen topped the -52 kgs category in Kurash after beating Shaira Batalla, Charmea Quelino defeated Ma. Veneza Dayao in the -63kgs for the gold and Eunice Lucero reigned supreme in the -78kgs.

In Pencak Silat at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, national team members Angeline Virina (Tanding Class A), Hanna Mae Ibutnande (Tanding Class C), and Angel-ann Singh (Tanding Class D) claimed the gold medals in their respective categories.