Paris – Veteran para swimmer Ernie Gawilan and para taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin plunge into action in their respective events Saturday in the 17th Paris Paralympic Games in separate venues here.
Appearing in the quadrennial sportsfest for the third straight time, Gawilan, 33, begins his campaign at the multi-purpose La Defense Arena in the heats of the men’s individual 200-meter individual medley SM7 race at 11:20 a.m. (5:20 p.m. in Manila).
In the event the Hangzhou Asian Para Games gold medalist makes the cut, he will see action in the finals at the 7:59 p.m. (1:59 a.m. in Manila) in the stint supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
“Our main aim is to make it to the finals Saturday evening, and we will see how Ernie will fare from there,” said national para swimming head coach Tony Ong his ward’s aspirations in the event.
Ganapin, 26, will finally get a chance to display his skills on this huge sports stage after being sidelined by COVID-19 before taking part in the Tokyo edition of the meet three years ago when the sport made its Paralympic Games debut.
The one-armed Marikina native opens his drive in the first round of the men’s 80-kilogram division at the Grand Palais, located near the iconic Eiffel Tower, at 4 p.m. (12 a.m. Sunday in Manila) against Aghan Hassanzada Hadi, who will be carrying the colors of the Refugee Paralympic Team.
In the event he hurdles his Afghan rival, Ganapin will be up against a great challenge in Azerbaijan’s Abulfaz Abuzarlia, who won the gold medal in the same weight class in the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Taiyuan, China last year.
