Fresh from bringing home a silver medal from a tournament in Malaysia, the Philippine national squash team is gearing up for a stint in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September-October 2023.
Philippine Squash Academy president Robert Bachmann told Daily Tribune in an online conversation that they are meeting with the team to see what competitions and training camps are scheduled this coming year.
The Kayod Pilipinas Team recently capped off the year with medals after joining the Southeast Asian-Marigold Jumbo Doubles Squash Championships last 5 to 7 December in Kuala Lumpur.
Robert Garcia and David William Pelino settled for silver in the men’s jumbo doubles while Jemyca Aribado and Yvonne Alyssa Dalida also placed second in the women’s jumbo doubles.
Reymark Begornia and Lizette Reyes also pocketed silver in the mixed jumbo doubles in the tournament.
“When it comes to squash, we’re pretty used to it already because we challenge Asian-level squash players every year. We’ve been competing with them for a while now and for the Asian Games, we participated in 2018,” said Bachman, who is also the president of the SEA Squash Federation.
“We’re going to do the same but this time, we’re going to work harder because we have to improve our placing. It’s going to be hard work for the guys so we are choosing our tournaments and where we will be training.”
Bachamnn said that they have already allotted in the budget their training camp whether it will be here in the Philippines or overseas.
“Training camps, that’s one of the things we are going to discuss whether we do it here or go to one of the neighboring countries to train so that’s up for discussion. It is really part of our budget for next year,” Bachmann said.