HANGZHOU, China — The heavyweights of Philippine sports are already in town, ready to come up with a dominant performance in the 19th Asian Games here.
Kayla Sanchez of swimming, Margielyn Didal of skateboarding, EJ Obiena of athletics and Alex Eala of tennis have already checked in at the athletes village, two days before hostilities come off the wraps on Saturday at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Stadium here.
All eyes will be on Sanchez as she makes her first Asian Games appearance since winning two medals for Canada in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The 22-year-old Sanchez will be competing in six events — the women’s 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 100-meter backstroke, 4×200-meter freestyle, 4×100-meter freestyle relay, and 4×100-meter medley relay.
She is looking to become the first Filipino to win an Asian Games medal since Ryan Papa won a pair of bronze in the men’s 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke events in the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998.
“My preparation, I would say, is good,” said Sanchez, who is fresh from serving a one-year residency that made her eligible to compete for the Philippines.
“This is my first Asian Games so I’m letting my experience guide me through. I’m just happy to be here with the team.”
Sanchez said she likes her chances.
“Hopefully, pretty good. I’m obviously trying my best to place the highest for Team Philippines.”
Didal, for her part, said she is fit and ready to compete after sitting out last year due to an ankle injury.
“I was forced to stop 11 months ago because of my injury. As of now, I’m focused on my recovery to regain my confidence and get comfortable with my board,” Didal, a gold medalist in the previous edition of the Games in Jakarta in 2018, said shortly after arriving in this bustling metropolis on Wednesday.
“We trained in Thailand before coming here. My goal is to make it to the finals. From there, I’ll try to get to the podium.”
Also putting their game faces on are Obiena and Eala.
Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association secretary general Edward Kho said Obiena, the second-best pole vaulter in the world, is already inside the Athletes Village while the 18-year-old Eala checked in on Thursday after competing in the Guangzhou Open WTA 250.
Obiena flew ahead of other national track and field bets as he will join Didal in serving as flag bearer during the opening ceremony on Saturday at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Stadium.
