This year's ONE Championship atomweight star Gina Iniong won the gold medal in the 55kg female kicklight category of kickboxing at the 2019 South East Asian (SEA) Games.
In an interview, the Team Lakay fighter said this was the first time she had participated in kickboxing as well as at an amateur event and at the SEA Games where kickboxing debuted at the biennial event.
Iniong dominated three rounds against Thailand's Apichaya Mingkhwan by a score of 3-0.
She is also grateful for her husband's supportiveness that postponed the honeymoon of the newlywed to facilitate Iniong's training at the SEA Games.
Her husband agreed that she should join the SEA Games on the condition that gold should be scarred and that this was one of his inspirations for winning his battles.
The 30-year-old Igorota mix martial artists said their hard work, dedication and sacrifice in training and preparation paid off.
She added that her adjustment to kickboxing from professional mixed martial arts has not been difficult since she started with wushu, though their training has been more focused on striking.
However, Iniong also felt a bit of pressure after most expected that she and her teammates would win the gold medals in their respective categories.
It was learned that a week after Iniong's wedding, she was back to training for his kickboxing stint at the biennial games. She joined the Philippine National Kickboxing Team after passing the tryouts as the team likely needed an experienced martial artist to represent the country at the 2019 SEA Games.
Meanwhile, she is set to fight the ONE Championship fight card on January 31, 2020.
Also, both gold medalists in their respective kickboxing categories were Jean Claude Saclag and ONE Warrior Series veteran Jerry Olsim, both Iniong's teammates in Team Lakay.
