A PINAY karate star has done the country proud half a globe away.

On Sunday night in Libon, Portugal, the Philippines’ Junna Tsukii defeated Kazakhstan’s Moldir Zhangbyrbay of Kazakhstan in the women’s -50 kg. event to win her first-ever gold medal in Karate 1-Premier League Sunday at the Altice Arena.

An effective roundhouse kick was all Tsukii needed to emerge triumphant in the final bout, 2-0, as she boosted her Fil-chances of making it to the Tokyo Olympics.

“Look at my first gold medal on the world calibre stage,” the Filipino-Japanese posted with gold medal, Philippine and Japan flag and two hearts emojis on her Facebook account.

“I would like to thank everyone who have supported me to this point. This medal is for YOU,” the 29-year old karateka added.

Ranked No. 15 in the Olympic standings, Tsukii hopes to represent the Philippines in the karate competition, which will be played for the first time in Tokyo.

Tsukii’s biggest victory came in the Round of 16, fashioning out a 2-1 nipping of Iran’s Sara Bahmanyar, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the world.

In the semifinals, Tsukii scored a 2-0 win over France’s two-time world champion Alexandra Recchia right after winning over Egypt’s Radwa Sayed via flags in the quarterfinals after their bout ended in a 1-1 stalemate.

After drawing a bye, Tsukii crushed Columbia’s Daniela Gallego. 10-2, in the Round of 32.

Tsukii, who suffered an early elimination at the opening event of the season in Istanbul, could not hide her emotions.

“I have been waiting for this moment for over a year,” Tsukii told WKF website.

“My matches here were very difficult. You can tell that the top karatekas in the world are here,” she added.

A 30th Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, Tsukii spent the last two months living and training in Serbia to keep fighting for her Olympic dream.

Describing the period as a “wonderful experience”, Tsukii thanked Serbia’s current world champion Jovana Prekovic, whom the 2018 Asian Games bronze medalist shared training sessions since March.

“She is great, she is a fantastic competitor, and she has a wonderful personality. She has helped me a lot,” said Tsukii on Prekovic.