Margarita "Meggie" Ochoa gave the Philippines its second gold medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games by overcoming her UAE rival in the women's 48-kg jiu-jitsu tournament.
She got the win via advantage.
Congratulations, Meggie...
... and what the hell!
I think this is the first time I have watched a jiu-jitsu match and I don't have the slightest clue on how matches are scored.
Here's the thing - I saw Meggie Ochoa standing with Balqees Abdulla lying down on the mat. With that said, the UAE jiu-jitsu athlete was looking for ways to make her submit. There was an instance in which she was trying to apply the triangle choke. In the UFC or mixed martial arts matches, the person standing up isn't exactly the dominant fighter.
So before hitting the internet for answers, I tried to juggle around the things I saw. As mentioned, Ochoa spent most of the match standing up while the UAE fighter was lying down. There was an instance where Meggie's uniform bothered her and the ref issued a warning, but it's not like it's a violation since combat matches are bound to mess up uniforms and other things. The Philippine Team coach asked for an instant replay and they might have won the call. And I guess this might be the thing when Meggie ran her enemy to the offside in the dying seconds of the match.
I guess it's probably because she looked like the aggressor throughout the match.
Hopefully, her win would prompt all of us to understand how the scoring-based jiu-jitsu works. A couple of years ago, I did not know the mindset one must look at when they are competing in weightlifting and pole vaulting but thanks to Hidilyn Diaz and EJ Obiena, I get to understand how they do things.
The only drawback of the sport is its aforementioned problem. It's hard to understand and you can manipulate it. Also, jiu-jitsu is a sport of submission and it might be susceptible to injury. At the moment, it is not an Olympic sport and the Hangzhou games are only the second time it has been featured.
Hopefully, her win would introduce new blood to the sport and hopefully, it could iron its kinks to become a recognized Olympic sport.