Team PH survives chess delisting with solid haul
NAGOYA—Matching the Philippines’ medal haul from the previous Asian Para Games was always going to be difficult, especially with chess—the country’s biggest source of gold medals three years ago—removed from the competition calendar.
But the Filipino athletes still delivered a performance worth celebrating, collecting two golds, two silvers and three bronzes to finish 17th overall in the fifth Asian Para Games, which closed Saturday at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Patrick Gregorio and Philippine Paralympic Committee (PPC) president Mike Barredo praised the delegation for overcoming the challenge and even improving on its previous output when chess medals were excluded from the comparison.
At the Hangzhou Games three years ago, the Philippines won 10 golds, four silvers and five bronzes, with chess accounting for eight golds, three silvers and two bronzes.
Without chess, the country’s haul in Hangzhou stood at two golds, one silver and three bronzes—one medal fewer than the seven the Filipinos brought home from Nagoya.
“It was a very successful performance. Congratulations,” said Gregorio, who flew in for the final two days of competition to support the Filipino athletes.
“There was no chess in these Asian Para Games. In the previous edition in China, we won a lot of medals because chess was included. Gold medals here were difficult to win. You know how hard the athletes worked for them,” Gregorio added.
Barredo shared the assessment, noting that the delegation had performed well despite losing its most productive medal source.
“More or less, with what we did last Para minus chess, of course, we did well,” Barredo said.
Swimmers Ernie Gawilan and Arjay Alegarbes delivered the Philippines’ two gold medals, while Gawilan added a silver to his haul.
The mixed doubles table tennis pair of Wilfred Redulla and Lhey Manginsay accounted for the other silver, while swimmer Raemond Adefuin, runner King James Reyes and shot putter Ma. Ravinia Carpena contributed a bronze each.
The results gave Philippine sports officials reason for optimism as the delegation looks ahead to the next Asian Para Games in Doha, Qatar, in 2031.
Gregorio, however, stressed that continued support for para athletes would be crucial to sustaining the country’s progress.
“What is important is that we continue supporting our Philippine para athletes,” he said.
Gregorio and Barredo also met with Asian Paralympic Committee president Majid Rashed to discuss possible collaboration on the development of the Philippines’ first training center dedicated exclusively to para athletes.
“One of the reasons I’m here is that I met with the APC president and asked them to help develop a training center similar to what we have done for taekwondo, football and baseball,” Gregorio said.
The proposed facility would form part of efforts to strengthen the country’s para sports program as it prepares for future international competitions.
