Multi-sport athlete Chino Sy finds Olympic calling in judo

DREAMS. Filipino judoka Chino Sy hopes to make it to the grandest stage in sports: the Olympics. PSC-POC Media Pool Also a standout athlete in sambo and wrestling, Chino Sy has shifted his focus to judo as he pursues an Olympic berth that would fulfill not only his dream, but also that of his family Chino Sy, a Filipino judoka from Davao City, is focused on qualifying for the 2028 Olympics, drawing motivation from his family's sacrifices and his father's unfulfilled Olympic dream. Sy has a strong background in combat sports, having won medals in sambo and wrestling, and is now concentrating on judo, where he has achieved significant success at the UAAP and SEA Games. As he prepares for the upcoming Asian Games in Japan, Sy aims to win a judo medal for the Philippines, inspired by fellow athlete Kiyomi Watanabe, and is determined to honor the trust placed in him by his family and country. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. MANILA, Philippines – Filipino judoka Chino Sy learned at an early age to make the most of every opportunity. Hailing from Davao City, Sy developed a sense of responsibility to perform whenever he and his family traveled to Manila for combat sports competitions, knowing that they invested not only time and effort, but also money, just to be there. As he embarks on his biggest challenge yet to make the Olympics, Sy is taking that same approach. “I feel like those experiences shaped how I compete today and my mentality towards sports. Even when we were young, we were told that we couldn’t come home with a loss. For one, we already spent money on plane tickets. We also paid entry fees and covered all other expenses,” said Sy in a mix of Filipino and English. Sy, 25, grew up immersed in combat disciplines. His father, Paolo Tancontian, represented the Philippines in judo, winning medals in international competitions including the Southeast Asian Games and the Arafura Games, and now serves as the president of the Pilipinas Sambo Federation. Sy’s older sister, Sydney, is currently the fifth-ranked sambo athlete in the world in the women’s +80kg division and has won medals in the last three Asia and Oceania Sambo Championships, including gold in 2025. With martial arts deeply rooted in his family, it comes as little surprise that Sy found success in the field that he captured medals in three different sports in the SEA Games. At 18 years old, Sy delivered a sambo gold when the country hosted the biennial showpiece in 2019. Four years later, he earned a wrestling silver in the 2023 edition in Cambodia. But Sy has shifted his focus on judo, the sport in which he dominated the UAAP by winning gold medals in four seasons at UST and earning two MVP awards, as he sets his sights on qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. And he showed promise in that pursuit by striking a judo gold in the men’s -100kg division in the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand. “Every athlete’s dream is the highest stage, the Olympics,” said Sy. “I feel like I’m at the peak of my career as an athlete. I’ll grab this opportunity and I’ll do everything I can to make it to the Olympics.” Sy is not pursuing the Olympic dream for himself alone, but also for his family, revealing that his father once dreamed of competing in the 2000 Sydney Olympics — hence his sister’s name. “This is not just my dream, it’s also my family’s dream. Papa may not have made it to the Olympics, but he’s doing everything he can to help me achieve our dream,” said Sy. “If all goes well, this will truly be a milestone for our family.” And with an Olympic dream in sight, Sy knows his belief in himself has to match his ambition as he eyes a rare judo medal in the upcoming Asian Games, which will be hosted in Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4. The Philippines has won only one judo medal in Asian Games history courtesy of Kiyomi Watanabe, who bagged the women’s 63kg silver in the 2018 edition in Indonesia. “My target is to win. I know it will be difficult, but I’m doing everything I can in training and preparation,” said Sy. Sy also looks to Watanabe, who represented the Philippines in the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Games, for inspiration, hoping to learn from someone with Olympic experience as they team up in the Asian Games. “[Kiyomi] has been competing for a long time and I’m looking forward to seeing how an Olympian thinks, how she prepares, and how she approaches every match,” Sy said. And just as he did in his early years, Sy is determined to live up to the trust placed in him — this time, not only by his family but the entire country. “I never want to let our country down, myself, or everyone who has put their trust in me,” said Sy. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading