By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Filipino fighter Charlie Ratcliff wasted no time asserting her dominance, needing less than a minute to capture the gold medal in the girls’ 45-kilogram modern mixed martial arts (MMA) event at the Asian Youth Games at the Exhibition World Bahrain in Sakhir, Bahrain on Saturday, October 25.

The 16-year-old standout from Negros Occidental’s Calatrava town swiftly forced Thailand’s Nakanantaphon Khaihong to submit via neck crank, prompting the referee to stop the match with 1:57 left in the opening round.

The quick victory delivered the Philippines’ third gold of the games, joining the earlier triumph of pesilat Kram Airam Carpio and sprinter Pi Durden Wangkay.

Her older brother, Travis Ratcliff, also made a strong showing, bagging the silver medal in the boys’ traditional MMA 60-kilogram division after bowing to Iran’s Hatamianafshari Amirmohammad via unanimous decision.

“This gold medal was expected,” said Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, who is leading the national delegation in Bahrain.

“There was no doubt — we would surpass the previous haul,” Tolentino added, citing the country’s two-gold, three-silver performance in the 2012 Nanjing Games.

“And we still have a lot of potential winners. Meron pa tayong volleyball. Volleyball tahimik lang ‘yan pero andyan lang ‘yan. We still have boxing, weightlifting — marami pang pagkukunan, pati jiujitsu,” he added./ASC, WDJ