HANGZHOU, China — The Filipinos put an end to their 33-year medal drought when they won a bronze medal in the sepak takraw competition of the 19th Asian Games on Tuesday at the Jinhua Sports Centre in Jinhua, China.
The Filipinos suffered a 21-15, 24-25, 17-21 loss to Indonesia in the semifinals, but it hardly mattered as they helped the Philippines boost their standing in the medal tally.
With the result, Team Philippines averted another dry day as its captured its ninth bronze medal in this prestigious continental event that is entering the final stretch.
Save for the big 84-83 victory over Iran in men’s basketball, the Filipinos suffered heartbreaks in all fronts with bets from archery, squash and athletics all falling by the wayside.
It also nearly turned into a sluggish day on Monday but weightlifter Elreen Ando ran away with a bronze medal in the women’s 64-kilogram event later in the day. But the battle is still far from done as the Gilas Pilipinas is already in the semifinals while boxer Eumir Marcial safely made it through the semifinals to become the Filipinos’ last hopes for a final push.
Unfortunately, Carlo Paalam surrendered to a taller, longer Abdumalik Kholokov of Uzbekistan in the quartefinals of the men’s 57-kilogram bout late Tuesday.
But the battle is still far from done as Gilas Pilipinas is already in the semifinals while boxer Eumir Marcial safely made it through the Final Four of the men’s 80-kg event to become the Filipinos’ last hopes for a final push.
Unfortunately, Carlo Paalam surrendered to a taller, longer Abdumalik Khalokov of Uzbekistan in the quartefinals of the men’s 57-kg bout late Tuesday.
Still, the day belonged to the takraw bets composed of team captain Jason Huerte, Rheyjey Ortouste, Vince Torno and Mark Joseph Gonzales as they captured the country’s first medal since the sport was introduced in the Beijing Asian Games in 1990.
Philippine Sepak Takraw Federation Inc. president Karen Caballero said it was an incredible and historic feat by the Filipinos, who came home empty-handed in the previous edition of the Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018.
“Since sepak takraw was included in the Asian Games in 1990, team PHI has never won a single Asian Games medal. Not until today,” said Caballero, whose wards whipped Singapore, 21-8, 21-15 early Tuesday to cap off their Group B campaign undefeated to set up a semifinal match against the Indonesians.
“Thank you boys. We will go back to work in the coming days.”
