MANILA, Philippines — Host country bets continuous to push for a home-court breakthrough as medals remained out of reach on the third day of the Karate One-Youth League Manila. The Philippines’ top remaining podium aspirations were dashed at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City as standout fighters Ysabella Arwen Varias and Carl Caruana both dropped their respective bronze medal matches.
Despite battling through grueling repechage rounds to keep their tournament hopes alive, both local karatekas ultimately fell short of securing a third-place finish on the world stage.
Fifteen-year-old Ysabella Arwen Varias, a student from Paco Catholic School in Manila, registered one of the tournament’s biggest highlights early on by pulling off a stunning upset over World Karate Federation (WKF) top-ranked fighter Mariia Sereda. However, she was unable to carry that momentum into her final medal bout.
- The Matchup: Competing in the cadet kumite female -61-kilogram division, Varias faced off against Romania’s Momanu Alexandra.
- The Result: The Romanian asserted control early in the contest, leaving Varias scrambling to find her typical offensive rhythm. The bout concluded with a 4-0 victory in favor of Alexandra, forcing Varias to settle for a hard-fought fourth-place finish.
- The Perspective: “It’s overwhelming being here because all the opponents are good,” Varias admitted, pointing out that she felt intense pressure during the bronze match which restricted her from executing her open-round strategies.
In the junior kumite male +76-kilogram class, Carl Caruana faced a similar fate against an aggressive opponent. The native of Antipas, Cotabato, went toe-to-toe with WKF-1 fighter Levon Shaishian.
- Early Deficit: Shaishian used a notable height advantage to race out to a quick 6-0 lead.
- The Fighting Spirit: Refusing to back down, Caruana executed a successful yuko technique to land on the scoreboard.
- The Mercy Rule Conclusion: With only 0.7 seconds remaining on the clock, Shaishian landed an ippon to stretch the final score to 9-1. Under WKF rules, opening an eight-point lead automatically triggers the mercy rule, ending the match instantly.
- The Future Track: Despite the loss, the incoming college freshman at Central Mindanao College remained optimistic about his development. Caruana will next represent the Soccsksargen banner in the upcoming Palarong Pambansa (running May 24 to 31), where karate is slated to make its debut as a demonstration sport.
“I am not just looking for a medal. My real aim here is to learn so I can win in the next competitions.” — Carl Caruana
Despite missing out on podium placements, Varias and Caruana cemented themselves as the host nation’s top-performing athletes across the initial three days of the prestigious four-day youth event.
The tournament—sanctioned by the World Karate Federation (WKF) and organized by the Karate Pilipinas Sports Federation, Inc. alongside the Philippine Sports Commission—brought over 1,000 elite young athletes from 59 countries to Pasay City.
Karate Pilipinas president Richard Lim noted that while the team faces a tough developmental learning curve against international opponents, hosting world-standard tournaments is the optimal blueprint to push the country’s grassroots athletes to train harder and adapt to the physical demands of global competition.