PARIS – A rising star and its newest and youngest member were the bright lights for the lean and mean national para athletics
squad that saw action in the 17th Paralympic
Games that concluded here on a festive note at the Stade de France on Sunday.
Filipino fans back home will remember this quadrennial meet for the best physically-challenged athletes from all over the world
held in this romantic French capital as the time when wheelchair thrower Cendy Asusano, 34, and para swimmer Angel Mae Otom, 21, rose to the occasion.
Making her debut in the quadrennial elite meet, Asusano emerged as a pleasant surprise on the penultimate day of the Games, hurling
the javelin to a personal best of 15.05 on her first attempt for fourth place at the Stade de France the previous day.
The proud Pasig resident just fell one rung short of a podium finish and in ending the country’s eight-year-old dry spell in the
sportsfest since the late table tennis player Josepine Medina took home a bronze medal in the 2016 Rio edition.
A double gold medalist in last year’s Cambodia ASEAN Para Games, her impressive heave was 42 centimeters better – an eye-popping
equivalent of 16.534 inches – than her previous standard of 14.63 meters in also placing fourth in the world para championships last May in Kobe, Japan.
“Ang feeling ko parang naka-gold na ako dahil first time ko ma-surpass yung 15 meters,” said the para athlete of her remarkable
feat. “Sabi ni coach Bernard Ebuen ibuga ko na nang todo sa first throw pa lang at yan po ang naging resulta.”
“Sayang naka-podium sana pero nandiyan yung Iranian,” said coach Ebuen, referring to Elham Salehi, who took the bronze with a throw
of 16.24 meters. “May iba pang pagkakataon pa naman. Patuloy na nag-iimprove siya.”
Until Asusano’s penultimate day heroics, it seemed like para swimmer Otom, also making her maiden outing at the Games, would be
the star of Philippine show after reaching her second finals event in three days, clocking a new personal best of 45.78 seconds in placing fifth in the women’s 50-meter butterfly S5 race.
She surpassed her previous PB 47.52 seconds world para championships last year in Manchester, England, becoming the first Filipino
para swimmer to enter the finals in both her events of the trip supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
The 21-year-old armless swimming wonder from Olongapo City, Zambales had also advanced to the finals of the women’s 50-meter backstroke
S5 race, finishing sixth, keeping pace with the daunting Chinese trio led by defending champion Lu Dong until the last 15 meters.
Long the pillars of the PH para team in international play, wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan and para swimmer Ernie Gawilan likewise
reached the finals of the 400-meter T52 and 400-meter freestyle events, respectively.
Unable to get a firm grip of wheelchair racer under rainy conditions, Mangliwan was eighth among the finalists in a time of 1:04.55
while Gawilan was sixth again in his fore in a time of 5:03.18.
One-armed taekwondo jin Allan Ganapin acquitted himself well on the Paralympic Games stage, whipping Afghan Hassansada Hadi 22-13
of Refugee Paralympic Team in the opening round of the men’s K44 men’s 80-kilogram division.
But Ganapin, who missed the Tokyo edition in 2021 due to COVID-19, dropped a close 9-12 decision to World Cup champion Abulfaz
Aburzali of Azerbaijan in the round-of-16.
Fellow newcomer Agustina Bantiloc, the country’s first representative in para archery, lost in the round-of-16 in the knockout
round Brazilian Karla Jogel 127-143 to wrap up the Philippine bid.
Four athletes – Gawilan, Mangliwan, Otom and Asusano – reached the medal stage of their respective events, which was not so in
majority of the country’s participation in the Paralympic Games since Filipino bets began campaigning in the sportsfest in the 1988 Seoul edition.
Three years ago, neither Gawilan nor Gary Bejino, the other para swimmer in the Tokyo Summer Paralympics, advanced to the finals
while Mangliwan was a non-factor in his pet event after being disqualified for crossing into the wrong lane.
So snapping the Philippine dry spell for a medal in the Paralympic Games will have to wait for another four years until the 2028
edition in Los Angeles comes along.
While encouraged by the improvement in the Philippine performance, Philippine Paralympic Committee president Mike Barredo stressed
that much was needed to be done to enhance the competitiveness of the Pinoy para athletes in overseas competitions.
“For us it was back to basics since there was a void (in development) from 2019 to 2023 due to the pandemic,” Barredo pointed out.
He admired the programs for para athletes of regional neighbors Thailand and Singapore “, which is ongoing back to the nineties.
They also have fast-track systems with the help of their respective governments.”
Barredo cited the need to develop team sports like sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, goalball plus other disciplines such
as rowing, badminton and judo.
“We need to have more para tournaments in all of these sports and expand our grassroots with the help of the Philippines Sports
Commission, especially now that they will have more funds coming in the work of the Supreme Court decision restoring the incomes of the PSC from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office,” he said.(PSC PCO)
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