PH WUSHU TEAM AIM HIGH AT 30TH SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 10 Nov 2019
If the modest 15th place fashioned out in the recent 2019 World Wushu Championships will be the gauge, the Philippine wushu team is cinch to better its performance in the coming 30th Southeast Asian Games the country is hosting November to December this year.
The Filipino wushu artists brought home a gold and a silver the last time around two years ago in Kuala and members of this year’s team are confident they can surpass their predecessors’ feats this year in the Games set November 30 to December 11.
Appearing as guests in last week’s SCOOP On Air forum at the Manila Times Television Studio, the Filipino aces believe they have what it takes to deliver the goods in the Philippines’ quest for a repeat of the 2005 overall championship campaign.
“Even if we only manage to bring home a pair of silver and a couple of bronze medals in the last world championships, we feel that would be enough to lift us up in this year’s SEA Games,” Daniel Parantac, 2015 gold medallist in the biennial conclave , assessed.
“This is because of the some 100 countries that sent their respective contingent in the last world tournament, the Philippines ended up ahead of almost all our SEA neighbors in the total medal tally,” Parantac, a taolu practitioner, reasoned out.
Agatha Wong, also a taolu artist, agreed with her teammate, saying both the national taolu (form) and sanda (sparring) teams are ready and prepared to do battle with their counterparts from 10 other SEA Games the nations.
“The world level competitions, such as the world tourney we took part in the past two years of our build up really toughened us up that we feel we’re now ready to face all comers who’ll cross our paths,” Wong, a pretty and statuesque Quezon Quezon City lass assured.
National team first-timer Russel Diaz, winner of one of two silver medals (48-kg event) the team scooped up in the world tilt held October 20-23 at the Minhang Gymnasium in Shanghai, appeared, too, with Parantac and Wong in the Forum organized by the Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines in coordination with the Manila Times TV.
And so was Clemente Tabugara Jr., who, along with Divine Wally was able to squeeze out a world championships bronze medal didn’t make it to SCOOP session.
Gracing, too, last week’s Forum were triathlete John Leerams Chicano and duathletes Jarwin Banatao, Joey delos Reyes, Emmanuel Commendador, Efraim Inigo and Jelsie Sabado and their coach Melvin Fausto.
Like its wushu counterpart, the country’s duathlon and triathlon sides, expressed confidence of an improved performance in the Games.
Chicano, for one, silver medalist in the 2017 Games, attested that both the two-event duathlon (cycling and running), which will be contested for the first time in the once every-two-year conclave, and the three-discipline triathlon squads will be in perfect shape comes competition time.
“As of today, the teams are 80 percent ready to ride, run and swim,” coach Fausto, for his past, assured. “Three months from now our men’s and women’s teams will be reading-ready na.”
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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