Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) – A total of 144 Filipino athletes across 11 sports will aim for gold in the 11th ASEAN Para Games scheduled from July 30 to August 6 in Surakarta, Indonesia.
Philippine Paralympic Committee President Mike Barredo said that Team Philippines roster had already been finalized last weekend.
“This is a hungry team, a fighting team that is eager to showcase their skills and talent after being deprived of international competition for over two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Barredo said of the Filipino athletes with disabilities who will compete in the biennial sporting event.
The ASEAN Para Games will be staged after five years. It was last held in Malaysia in 2017, where the Filipino para athletes took home 20 gold, 20 silver, and 29 bronze medals.
The Philippines was set to host the 2019 edition, but it was cancelled due to budget constraint and the eventual COVID-19 outbreak.
Vietnam backed out from hosting this year’s ASEAN Para Games as Indonesia was chosen to host the competition.
The Philippine athletics team will be sending the most number of athletes with 24, led by Paralympians Jerrold Mangliwan of wheelchair racing and Jeanette Aceveda of discus throw.
The chess team will parade 22 woodpushers, bannered by 2017 ASEAN Para Games triple gold medalist and FIDE Master Sander Severino.
The Philippine table tennis team is powered by 13 athletes, while the men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams will bring 12 and 11 cagers, respectively.
Some 12 Filipino para-swimmers will vie for glory in the regional showpiece as they will be skippered by Paralympian and decorated tanker Ernie Gawilan.
The Philippines will also compete in sitting volleyball with 10 athletes, archery with nine athletes, badminton and powerlifting with eight athletes each, goalball with six athletes, judo with five athletes, and boccia with four athletes.
Barredo thanked the Philippine Sports Commission for its support to the Filipino para athletes, in particular, the opening of the Philsports Complex in Pasig City to set up a training bubble for them.
“This training has armed them well for the action ahead in Indonesia,” Barredo noted.
