SPORTS in Philippine Daily Inquirer

 

September 29, 2023

Alex Eala "bronzed" herself in her first Asiad.  (Pool photo)

Hey there sports fan, The Asian Games is upon us and the Philippines is again in the hunt for medals in the international arena. It's not going to be easy. So far, our best finish as of this writing is a silver medal from Arnel Mandal, who lost to China's Jiang Haidong in the final of wushu's sanda event.  Things have been going sideways thus far with bets the country was pinning its gold medal hopes on. Margielyn Didal, feeling the effects of her surgically-repaired ankle, surrendered her street skateboard crown. Kayla Noelle Sanchez, the Olympic medalist from Canada who switched federations to represent her parents' home country, failed in her bid to win a medal in the individual swimming events. But there's reason to be optimistic. Alex Eala, at 18 and playing in her first Asian Games, won a bronze medal in wimen's singles, ending a medal drought for the country in the sport that has lasted nearly two decades. Do you know who won bronze medals in tennis for the country in 2006? The answer to that trivia question later on.   Also competing in the Asian Games is the Philippine men's basketball team, which is currently being handled by coach Tim Cone. The team is currently at 2-0, with a big game against fellow unbeaten squad Jordan coming up.  The other gold hopefuls are also still about to compete. EJ Obiena, the pole vault star, and Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, the Olympic gold medalist, have yet to see action, while the national boxing squad has done well so far after a round of competitions.

So you'll know where to get your Asian Games fix. (Marlo Cueto)

Meanwhile... There's a lot of great stories going on in the continental Olympics. Just check out our Asian Games archives for stories like China's youngest athlete, at 13, striking gold in front of her home fans. Or, you can also check out our live updates page.  You'll get latebreakers, too, like the Filipinas advancing to the quarterfinals after a 3-0 victory over Myanmar and getting favorable results in other games.  What we're up to next: We'll be pretty much occupied with our coverage of the Asian Games so that's something that we will be devoting our efforts to. We have guys on ground both in China and here in the country making sure we have all bases covered so keep it here with us across all our platforms!  Number of the Week: 9 Age of the Philippines' youngest athlete, Mazel Alegado, who competes in skateboard.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “He’s playing through [the pain] for only one reason: [because] he’s on the national team.” —Germany coach Tim Cone, on Justin Brownlee, who is playing hurt for the Philippines in the Asian Games.

Answer to trivia question above: Cecil Mamiit won an individual bronze in tennis and 2006 and joined hands with Eric Taino for another bronze in men's doubles. THose bronze medals were the last won by the country in tennis until Eala's recent feat. If you got the answer to the above trivia question right, go ahead and give the other questions in our weekly sports quiz a shot. Check them out in our Viber community, which also features the freshest sports updates.  Buy the Inquirer at newsstands, subscribe to our digital edition, Inquirer Plus, visit our online site and follow us on socials (Twitter: @inquirersports; FB: facebook.com/inquirersports) for more stories and updates—or to send us questions or suggestions of stories you'd want to read. Have a great and safe weekend! See you next Friday. Francis Francis T. J. Ochoa is the Sports Editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. For comments, suggestions and questions, hit him up on Twitter (@ftjochoaINQ).