Fifty-seven Filipino para athletes journey to Jakarta, Indonesia on Monday to slug it out in the 3rd Asian Para Games that will take place from Oct. 6 to 13 in 19 locations around Jakarta.
Filipino para athletes will compete in 10 of 18 sports slated in the Para Games, namely archery, athletics, badminton, chess, cycling, judo, powerlifting, table tennis, swimming and tenpin bowling.
Leading the Philippine contingent are bemedalled para athletes Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta of powerlifting and Josephine Medina of table tennis.
Ancheta holds the record for being the first Filipino to win a medal in the Paralympics after bagging a bronze medal in Sydney, Australia in 2000. Ancheta won another bronze medal recently in the 2018 World Para Powerlifting Asia-Oceania Open Championships held in Fukuoka, Japan in early September. Medina won a bronze medal in 2016 at the Paralympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Philippine Paralympic Committee president Michael Barredo expressed optimism in the Filipinos’ campaign in Jakarta, saying that the Philippines hopes to improve on its five silvers and five bronzes in Incheon, South Korea four years ago.
University of the Philippines Professor Francis Carlos Diaz who will serve as Chef de Mission said that the Philippine team went through rigorous training to prepare for this regional event. He thanked the Philippine Sports Commission for the generous support that it extended so that Filipino para athletes could compete for the country.
Donning the national colors are Agustina Bantiloc and Giovanni Ola (archery); Prudencia Panaligan, Andy Avellana, Jerrold Pete Mangliwan, Joel Balatucan, Evaristo Carbonel, Jeanette Acebeda, Marites Burce, Arman Dino and Cendy Asusano (athletics); Jonas Matados, Paz Lita and Kathleen Pedrosa (badminton); Sander Severino, Henry Roger Lopez, Jasper Rom, Minandro Redor, Israel Peligro, Arman Subaste, Francis Ching, Rodolfo Sarmiento, Cecilio Bilog, Fe Mangayayam, Jean-lee Nacita and Cheryl Angot (chess); Arthus Bucay and Godfrey Taberna (cycling); Gener Padilla, Deterson Omas and Carlito Agustin (judo); and Achelle Guion, Agustin Kitan, Marydol Pamatian and Romeo Tayawa (powerlifting).
Also joining the Jakarta trip are Minnie Cadag, Benedicto Gaela, Pablo Catalan, Darwin Salvacion and Smith Billy Cartera (table tennis); Ernie Gawilan, Gary Bejino, Roland Subido, Arnel Aba and Edwin Villanueva (swimming); and Kim Ian Chi, Samuel Matias, Angelito Guloya, Christopher Yue, Francisco Ednaco, Jaime Manginga, Augusto Hernandez, Crisostomo Yao, Noel Espanol and Ruben San Diego (tenpin bowling).
The Asian Para Games is a multi-sport event held every four years after every Asian Games for athletes with physical disabilities. The first Asian Games were held in Guangzhou, China in 2010. The second edition was held in 2014 in Incheon, Korea.
This year’s contingent hopes to better their last medal record to inspire other para athletes to break barriers and pursue their dream of representing the country.
