Napolis provides silver lining with jiu-jitsu bronze after Ramirez, Custodio heartbreaks in Asian Games

MANILA, Philippines – Kaila Napolis somehow made up for the heartbreaking defeats of world champions Annie Ramirez and Kimberly Custodio as she salvaged a jiu-jitsu bronze medal in the 2026 Asian Games. Napolis clinched what is so far the Philippines’ only jiu-jitsu medal in the continental meet in Nagoya, Japan, after a 2-0 win over Mongolia’s Tsagaanbileg Altangerel in the battle for the women’s 52kg bronze at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall on Friday, October 2.

A Southeast Asian Games champion, Napolis crashed out of gold-medal contention after a 3-2 loss to to Mongolia’s Mongoljin Ganbaatar in the quarterfinals, but she found her way to the podium by coming out triumphant in the repechage against Singapore’s Sofia Anabel Rivas and toppling Altangerel for the bronze. “I really wanted to bounce back [and end] with the bronze medal. I wanna give it all. And thankfully, I pulled it off,” said Napolis in a mix of Filipino and English. Napolis replicated her campaign in the 2023 edition in Hangzhou, China, where she also won bronze after losing in the semifinals. Her podium finish came after the surprise exits of Ramirez and Custodio, who were tipped as strong gold-medal contenders following their triumphs in the Ju-Jitsu International Federation World Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in August. Eyeing a second Asian Games gold after ruling the women’s 57kg class in 2023, Ramirez lost her opening match…