By Genevieve B. Kupang
Kickboxing has earned its place on the world stage in its own right, gaining full recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2021 through the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) and a shortlist spot for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. It is a legitimacy that now extends to the women who fought to compete in it (WAKO). It only took shape as a distinct discipline in Japan in the late 1950s, when boxing promoter Osamu Noguchi and karateka Tatsuo Yamada worked to blend the kicks of karate with the full-contact punches of Western boxing (Infinitude Fight, 2024).
And for a long time, it was a man’s ring. Women began pushing their way into it as early as the 1960s in Thailand, and by the 1970s, many women in the United States turned to kickboxing because they were still being shut out of women’s boxing altogether. It has taken decades of women refusing to sit outside the ropes for kickboxing to become what it is today. It is a sport where a young woman’s discipline, footwork, and heart can carry her around the world (Evolve MMA, 2025).
In the Philippines, that same struggle for legitimacy played out on a national scale. The sport existed informally for years under the old Kickboxing Federation of the Philippines (KFP). It was only in October 2018 that kickboxing gyms and clubs were assembled by then Philippine Olympic Committee official Abraham Tolentino, a former KFP president, ahead of the Philippines’ hosting of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games that the sport was revived and reorganized as the Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas (SKP), the national governing body that formally opened the door for structured national training and competition for Filipino men and women alike. That reorganization is the reason a home-grown fighter like Claudine Veloso could dream of a national team slot, let alone a SEA Games podium.
That history matters because it is the same history a college student choosing between a scholarship form and a training schedule is quietly stepping into. For every student-athlete in the Philippines weighing basic education, higher education, and sport all at once, Claudine Veloso’s story is proof of what that choice can become: that the discipline built in a school gym or a barangay tournament can, if nurtured, open doors far beyond the borders of one’s own city, region, or country.
There is a particular kind of pride that comes from watching someone grow up in front of you, not just as an athlete, but as a person. For the Baguio Central University (BCU) community, that person is Claudine Veloso.
Long before the SEA Games gold medal, before her name was printed on a banner in Kazakhstan, and before she pulled on Philippine colors under the lights of Usti nad Labem, Claudine was a young lass who had a fire in her that refused to be ignored.
A Beginning at Palarong Pambansa
Her journey through the ranks of Philippine sport goes back to 2014, when she stood on stage at the Palarong Pambansa awarding ceremony as a teenager, all smiles, holding a small ribbon of pride from the country’s biggest grassroots sporting event. It’s easy to look at that photo now and see it as the opening chapter of a much bigger story: a young athlete taking her very first steps onto a national stage, with no idea yet how far those steps would eventually carry her.
Giving Back Before Moving Forward
Growth in sport isn’t only measured by medals. In November 2024, Claudine returned to grassroots competition, not as a fighter this time, but as a technical official for kickboxing at the Batang Pinoy Games in Puerto Princesa. It was a meaningful chapter: an athlete who had already tasted international success choosing to give back to the very system of youth sports development that once gave her a start. It’s a reminder that champions are shaped as much by the people who mentor them as by the ones they eventually mentor themselves.
Gold, and the Weight of a Flag
On May 21, 2023, that history caught up with her all at once. Standing on the podium at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, gold medal freshly placed around her neck after defeating Vietnam’s representative in the women’s K1 -52kg final, Claudine broke down in tears in front of the cameras (Inquirer Sports, 2023). “I cannot help but cry because of JOY. Nag flashback lahat ng hirap at sakripisyo na pinagdaanan ko sa journey na ito,” she said in the moment, every ounce of sacrifice, every early morning, every setback, arriving at once in the sight of that medal.
It was a win that reached far beyond the ring. In the middle of the celebration, she found herself face to face with Nasser Nassiri, President of WAKO Asia, the governing body that oversees the sport she had just conquered on the regional stage, a reminder that her achievement had registered with the people who shape kickboxing’s future in Asia, not just with the fans back home.
By 2025, Claudine’s name carried real weight in Philippine combat sports. Her image now shares wall space in her training gym with fellow SEA Games gold medalists, a visual record of a hard-earned reputation-built kick by kick, round by round, in the ring where the Philippine flag was raised in her honor. That gold medal, one of the Philippines’ 58 golds at the 2023 SEA Games and a milestone that later prompted her to explore a transition into Olympic-style boxing (Austria, 2024; SPIN.ph, 2023), remains one of the achievements of her athletic career and a point of pride for BCU and the entire Baguio boxing and kickboxing community that raised her.
Team Before Self
None of this happens alone. A gathering of teammates and coaches in Tagaytay in 2025 tells its own story of a wider circle of Filipino fighters, side by side, preparing, sparring, and pushing one another forward. Elite performance is rarely a solitary pursuit, and Claudine’s rise has been built inside a community of athletes and mentors who share the same relentless standard.
Testing Herself Abroad
That same year, Claudine carried Philippine colors to Khorgos, Xinjiang, in China, competing in the women’s 54kg division at the 2025 Belt and Road International Youth Boxing Gala. Facing international competition on foreign soil is never easy, and coming home with a silver medal from that tournament was a clear signal: Claudine was no longer just a regional standout. She was becoming a fighter with an international range.
Onto the World Stage: European Grand Prix 2026
That trajectory reached a new peak in June 2026, when Claudine qualified for and competed at the Grand Prix Usti nad Labem, the European Cup Gold tournament held in the Czech Republic from June 16 to 21. Representing both the Philippines and Baguio Central University, she stepped into the ring against seasoned European competition on one of amateur boxing’s most competitive stages.
The final result in the ring didn’t go her way this time. But qualifying for a tournament of this caliber, and standing in that ring wearing the flag, is itself a milestone very few athletes ever reach. It is proof of years of discipline, sacrifice, and belief, proof that a girl who once posed proudly for a Palarong Pambansa photo in 2014 has become a fighter capable of testing herself against the best in the world.
A Word of Gratitude
None of this, Claudine is quick to say, has been a solo effort. She has pointed to the steady support of Dr. Michelle Alumno, BCU’s Sports Director, whose guidance has helped balance her academic responsibilities with the demands of national training camps and international travel. She has also acknowledged the backing of Philippine Sports Commission Chair Patrick “Pato” Gregorio and Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas President, Senate Majority Leader Francis “Tol” Tolentino (Inquirer Sports, 2025), both of whom she credits for championing the infrastructure and funding that allow athletes like her to compete on continents away from home. And running through all of it has been the consistent encouragement of the BCU President and the university’s administrators, whose willingness to accommodate an athlete’s unconventional academic calendar has made it possible for Claudine to chase gold medals and a diploma at the same time,proof, in her own words and choices, that a university can be both a classroom and a training ground for a champion.
Still Rising
This is not the end of Claudine’s story, and it’s simply the latest chapter. BCU and the entire Eagle community remain proud of her for the resilience, humility, and heart she has carried at every stage of her journey from grassroots gymnasiums in the Philippines to boxing rings in Asia and Europe.
Congratulations, Claudine. We are proud of you. The next chapter awaits.
Photo Credit: Claudine Veloso’s FB page
References
Austria, J. B. (2024, June 5). Bacyadan, Veloso return to boxing, eye Paris games. Manila Standard. https://manilastandard.net/?p=314405658
Baguio Herald Express Online. (2024, November 6). Baguio-based kickboxers commended anew. https://baguioheraldexpressonline.com/baguio-based-kickboxers-commended-anew/
Baguio Central University. (2026, June). [Congratulatory post honoring Claudine Veloso’s participation in the European Grand Prix 2026]. https://www.facebook.com/ BaguioCentralUniversity/posts/ 1608912421238906/
Evolve MMA. (2025, August 25). The history of kickboxing and its global rise. Evolve Daily. https://evolve-mma.com/blog/the-history-of-kickboxing-and-its-global-rise/
Infinitude Fight. (2024, September 3). A detailed guide to kickboxing. https://www.infinitudefight.com/ guides/kickboxing/
Inquirer Sports. (2023, May 17). SEA Games 2023: Claudine Veloso adds a third gold to PH kickboxing haul. Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://sports.inquirer.net/510645/sea-games-2023-claudine-veloso-adds-a-third-gold-to-ph-kickboxing-haul
Inquirer Sports. (2025, April 19). Kickboxing chief Tolentino hails PH’s 22-medal haul at Bangkok World Cup. Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://sports.inquirer.net/619714/kickboxing-chief-tolentino-hails-phs-22-medal-haul-at-bangkok-world-cup
SPIN.ph. (2023, May 30). Gold-winning kickboxer Claudine Veloso saves the best for last. https://www.spin.ph/ multisport/sea-games/filipina-kickboxer-claudine-veloso-wins-sea-games-gold-medal-a5271-20230530