THE Philippines won its first silver medal in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China after Arnel Mandal fell short against Chinese Haidong Jiang in the finals of the 56KG Men’s Sanda event of Wushu at the XSG Sports Centre.
Mandal lost to Jiang by a win by points difference after two rounds.
Three other Wushu athletes—Gideon Padua, Clemente Tabugara Jr., and Jones Inso—added a bronze medal each after losing their respective semifinal matches on Sept. 27, 2023.
Tennis. On the other hand, Alex Eala finished with a bronze medal after losing to Chinese Qinwen Zheng in three sets - 1-6, 7-6(5) and 3-6. It was the Philippines’ first medal in tennis for almost 17 years in the Asian Games.
Softball. The Philippines Softball Team logged its second win in Group B after a 5-0 victory over South Korea. The Philippines earlier beat Thailand, 11-0, and lost to China, 0-7.
Weightlifting. Kirstie Alora and Samuel Thomas Morrison bowed out in their respective Round of 16 events. Alora lost to Iran’s Anahita Tavakoli, 2-0, in the Women’s +65KG division, while Morrison also bowed down to Iranian Arian Salimi, 2-0, in the +80KG weight class.
Boxing. Riza Pasuit was eliminated in the preliminary round of the welterweight division in Women’s Boxing after a walkover win by Thai Sananya Somnuek.
ESports. The Philippines was eliminated in the Dream Three Kingdoms 2 quarterfinals after losing to Hong Kong, 0-2.
Golf. Rianne Mikhaela Malixi finished seventh with 68, while Cebuana Lois Kaye Go ended up in 21st place after the first round. The Philippines also finished seventh in the Women’s Team event in Golf after the first round with 140.
As of press time, the Philippines was competing for a gold medal in the Women’s 4x200M Freestyle Relay in Swimming. The Philippines moved up to 24th place overall with a total of six medals—a silver and five bronzes. / EKA