Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 18) – The Philippine table tennis team is among the few national squads yet to win a gold medal in the history of Southeast Asian Games.
In next month’s edition of the biennial regional sports event in Hanoi, Vietnam, a mix of young and tested Filipino paddlers will vie to win the elusive gold.
Cebuano veteran paddler Richard Gonzales and 2018 Youth Olympian Jann Nayre leads the 10 names who will represent the country in the 31st SEA Games table tennis competitions from May 13 to 20, according to the lineup shared by the Philippine Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) to CNN Philippines.
“Iba ang team na ito. Malupit, disiplinado at ipaglalaban tayo hanggang saan tayo magpunta. Kulang na lang sa amin ang gintong medalya. Ito na yun, dito meron tayong patutunguhan,” PTTF president Ting Ledesma said in a recent sports media forum.
[Translation: This team is different. They are confident, disciplined, and have the heart to fight for us anywhere we go. We’re prime for a gold medal. This is it, this team will have a productive future ahead.]
Gonzales won a total of two silvers and seven bronzes in his competitive years in the SEA Games, where he will compete for the 10th straight time come Vietnam.
The 51-year-old table tennis veteran was also the lone Filipino paddler who snagged a medal – a bronze in the men’s singles play – during the 2019 SEA Games held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center.
He and Nayre will be the country’s entries in the men’s singles event. The two are also part of the men’s doubles and men’s team events.
Joining Gonzales and Nayre in the men’s team category are former UAAP Most Valuable Player John Russel Misal, Japheth Adasa, and John Michael Castro.
Misal and Gonzales are the first Philippine duo listed in the men’s doubles category, while Nayre and Castro form part of the other pairing vying for the gold.
In the mixed doubles play, Nayre will team up with De La Salle University standout Angelou Joyce Laude while Adasa will be in tandem with 15-year-old prospect Kheith Rhynne Cruz.
Cruz and Laude will spearhead the country’s campaign in the women’s singles and doubles, where they are also paired to represent the flag.
UAAP back-to-back MVP Emy Rose Dael and Sheryl Mae Otanes are the other Philippine duo in the women’s doubles category.
Keziah Bien Ablaza will join Laude, Cruz, Dael, and Otanes in the women’s team event.
