SUBIC - Injury picked the worst time to strike Irendin Lepatan.
Four days before the start of the muay wai kru event of the 30th Southeast Asian Games, Lepatan suffered a broken nose during training.
The 29-year-old martial artist underwent surgery, but she refused to pass up on the opportunity to don the national team colors in the regional meet.
She wasn't sure if it's a high-risk high-reward situation. But Lepatan, unfazed by the dangers, soldiered on.
"We trained really hard for this. I wasn't going to miss this one," said Lepatan in Filipino.
That's why it's understandable that she almost broke into tears after winning the silver medal in the women's wai kru at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center on Wednesday.
Lepatan and partner Rusha Mae Bayacsan were .3 shy of stealing the gold medal from Thailand. The visiting team posted 9.47 points.
It was a stellar outing, nonetheless, for the duo, who are SEA Games first-timers.
Although no longer a stranger to martial arts having played taekwondo and pencak silat before, she is relatively new to the sport.
The former pencak national team athlete ended up playing muay after a buddy from the military, knowing her penchant forcombat sports, asked her if she wanted to try it.
She did. Although it wasn't an easy road, she got by.
"They needed a player. It was an easy transition for me since I played various martial arts before," she said.
But that's all in the past now.
Trying to hold back tears, Lepatan, the University of Cebu alumna, expressed gratitude to everyone who supported them every step of the way.
"After all the sacrifices, the injuries, we were able to overcome this," said Lepatan.