Philippine karate athlete Junna Tsukii
Philippine karate athlete Junna Tsukii added a silver medal to the country’s growing number of awards at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia on 6th May 2023.
But despite it, the Filipino-Japanese athlete had to defend her Filipino identity. This was after a comment on a social media post implying she was not Filipino enough to represent the country.
“No trace of Filipino-ness”
Image credit: Junna Tsukii via Facebook
“Paano naging pinay yan? Pangalan at hitsura walang bakas ng pagiging pilipino (sic),” commented a Facebook user on one of the posts made of Tsukii.
(“How is she Filipino? Her name and face do not have any trace of being Filipino.”)
Tsukii responded to the comment in Filipino. “Ano ang kahulugan ng pagka-Filipino para sa iyo? Ang nanay ko ay Filipino. Ipinanganak ako sa Pasay.”
(“What is your idea of Filipino-ness? My mother is Filipino. I was born in Pasay.”)
Junna Tsukii claps back
Image adapted from: Junna Tsukii via Facebook
Tsukii also wrote a post on her page addressing the comment.
In her reply to the Facebook commenter, she added, “I have been a member of the Philippine karate team for 6 years. We wear the Filipino flag on our chest and work hard every day.”
Junna Tsukii proud to be Filipino
There are many mixed-raced Filipinos who represent our country in different fields, including beauty pageants such as Miss Universe. It’s about high time Filipinos let go of their ideas of Filipino-ness and celebrate wins such as that of athlete Junna Tsukii.
Get to know more about our local pride with this list of inspiring Filipino athletes. You can also read facts about our first Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, who also joined the 2023 SEA Games.
Cover image adapted from: @ and @
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