BY REY VIRGILIO LACHICA
AT A GLANCE
The victories by Gilas and the Blu Girls plus the silver medal win of Mandal somehow soothed the pain suffered by the Filipino fans here after tennis princess Alex Eala absorbed 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6 defeat to Chinese starZheng Qinwen of Chinaat the city’s Olympic Tennis Centre.
HANGZHOU, China – Wushu sanda warrior Arnel Mandal was hardly mentioned as one of the country’s medal hopefuls but defied great odds to produce the first silver medal and become an instant star for Team Philippines in the 19th Asian Games Thursday, Sept. 28, here.
Competing in a heavier weight category at 56-kilogram, the pride of Iloilo gamely battled Chinese Jiang Haidong only to suffer a 2-0 beating in a contest watched by a small but highly appreciative crowd at the Xiaoshan Guali Sports Centre.
“Ginawa ko lahat ng aking makakaya pero hindi ako pinalad,’’ was Mandal’s quick answer when asked what went wrong with his game.
Gilas provided the silver lining for Team PH when the Nationals romped to an 87-72 win over a surprisingly tough Thai squad at the Zhejiang Zijingang University Gymnasium.
A crippling 7-2 mini-run was all the Nationals needed to finally take the fight out of the Thais and enable several embattled basketball officials to heave a sigh of relief.
Known as the Blu Girls, the women’s softball team crushed Korea, 5-0, for its second straight win.
The victories by Gilas and the Blu Girls plus the silver medal win of Mandal somehow soothed the pain suffered by the Filipino fans here after tennis princess Alex Eala absorbed 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6 defeat to Chinese star Zheng Qinwen of China at the city’s Olympic Tennis Centre.
Eala’s gallant performance against a rival who made quite a noise in the recent US Open after reaching the quarter increased the country’s bronze medal haul to five.
The Philippines hopes to strike its first gold when pole vault king EJ Obiena competes on Saturday, Sept. 30. Also expected to deliver are Tokyo Games medalists Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Marcial.
Mandal’s silver medal plus the bronze medals won by Gideon Padua and Clemente Tabugara Jr. on Wednesday, made the wushu association the country’s top medal producer.
In all, the wushu bets collected 1 silver and 3 bronze medals, including the one won by taolu specialist Jones Inso’ in the men’s taijiquan-Taijijian all-round on Monday.
But it was another sorry day for taekwondo bets after Korean Open gold medal winner Kirstie Elaine Alora (women’s +67kg class) and SEAG 4-time champion Samuel Morrison suffered defeats at the hands of their superior rivals.
Only poomsae bet King Patrick Perez managed to win a medal for the 12-man taekwondo team. In the 2018 edition, they won 3 bronze medals, including two in poomsae team events.
Same thing happened to Esports bets after they dropped out of medal contention with a 2-0 defeat to Hong Kong.
Over at the West Lake International Golf Country Club in Xihu District, Filipina golfers put on a brave stand that put themselves in the medal mix.
Rianne Malixi shot a bogey-free 68 to gain a share of 7th place among 39 bidders in individual play of the 72-hole tournament.
Teammate Lois Kaye Go, however, failed to sustain a respectable 35 in her first 9 holes and ended with a 72 for joint 21st.
