ISA TOWN — Pi Durden Wangkay showed determination and fortitude far beyond his years, turning heartbreak into triumph and adding to the Philippines’ gold medal haul in the Asian Youth Games.
The 16-year-old Wangkay stormed to victory in the 200-meter dash at the Asian Youth Games late Saturday at Bahrain National Stadium, clinching the Philippines’ third gold medal of the meet just a day after a heartbreaking loss.
“At first po, noong hindi po ako nanalo ng 100, sobrang nalungkot po ako (At first, when I didn’t win the 100 meters, I was really disappointed),” said Wangkay, who wound up fifth in the century dash.
“Napag-isipan ko po buong gabi, pauwi pa lang po (I thought about it the whole night, even on my way home),” Wangkay said. “Iniba ko po yung mindset ko dito. Ginawa ko po in-imagine ko yung sarili ko na local meet lang, na deserve ko to (I changed my mindset this time. I imagined it was just a local meet and reminded myself that I deserve to win).”
Wangkay was among the leaders as the pack came off the turn. He surged ahead with 40 meters to go, and the small Filipino crowd erupted as he crossed the finish line in 21.76 seconds.
Chu Chao-Feng of Chinese Taipei bagged silver in 21.90, and Kim Sunwoo of South Korea clocked 21.93 for the bronze.
“Sobrang sarap po sa pakiramdam na hindi lang sa Palaro ako nanalo, dito rin ako nanalo (It feels so good knowing I didn’t just win in the Palaro, but here as well),” Wangkay said.
The product of De La Salle Zobel joined pesilat Kram Airam Carpio and MMA fighter Charlie Ratcliff.
The Philippine celebration continued as Naomi Cesar bagged the silver medal in the girls’ 800-m run in two minutes and 8.69 seconds.
China’s Song Jinping won the event in 2:07.84, while Indonesia’s Gesndis Aulia Syafitri earned the bronze in 2:24.98. PR