A P1-MILLION cash incentive awaits Josephine Medina who gave the Philippines a bronze medal in women's class 8 table tennis competition of the ongoing Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her feat ended the 16-year drought of the country in the Games.
This was bared by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William "Butch" Ramirez to SunStar Davao in a text message Tuesday, September 13.
"We are happy of Josephine winning a bronze. The signs of the time for Philippine sports and the momentum is good. She will receive P1 million and we plan to give allowances to all the Paralympics delegates during our board meeting tomorrow," Ramirez said, adding that from Hidilyn Diaz, a Rio Olympics silver medalist, to Medina and preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics seem encouraging with the support of President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration.
Medina scored an 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 upset victory over Germany's Juliane Wolf, a 2015 European Para Championships silver medalist, to improve her fourth finish in the 2012 London Olympics.
Medina, in an International Table Tennis Federation report on its website, said table tennis became her therapy as a polio victim. She used to compete with able-bodied athletes and qualified to the national team but she was then rejected having been told that she was disabled, thus, could not be part of the national team.
"The rejection has become my inspiration and I train hard and I just want to prove that disability is not a hindrance in achieving your goal. It’s just an instrument in reaching success in your life,” Medina told ITTF.
She dedicated her win to her father who was once a member of the national team but died in 2004 due to heart attack while working as a coach at the Royal Saudi Air Force.
Medina has long been praying for a medal as she came close to winning one in London.
She added, "Here the competition has been really tough but as I told you before when I beat Aida Dahlen and qualified for the main draw, for God nothing is impossible!”
Chinese Jingdian Mao also scored a sweeping victory over France's Thu Kamkasomphou, 11-6, 11-8, 11-3, to pocket the gold medal. The latter overwhelmed Medina, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9, in their semifinal match.
Medina's medal was the country's second since it joined the Seoul 1988 Paralympic Games. Powerlifter Adeline Dumapong Ancheta won the first medal, a bronze, in the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games. (MLSA)