MALAYSIAN Asean Para Games gold medalists Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta and Josephine Medina headline the cast of athletes seeing action in the 6th PSC-PHILSPADA National Paralympic Games that gets under way today at the Marikina Sports Park.
Nearly 1,000 athletes representing their respective local government units will compete in the five-day sportsfest organized by the Philippine Sports Association for Disabled Athletes, with the support of the Philippine Sports Commission and the Marikina city government under Mayor Marcelino Teodoro.
Expected to grace the simple opening ceremonies at 8 a.m. today are PHILSPADA president Mike Barredo, Commissioner Arnold Agustin and Teodoro in the event that serves as national team tryouts for the 3rd Asian Paralympic Games in Indonesia in October.
“We would like to thank the Philippine Sports Commission and the local government units for their continuing support of our PHILSPADA National Para Games,” said Barredo of the sportsfest that had its inaugural edition in Cebu in 2000.
“The Games are compulsory for our present athletes in the national pool like Ancheta and Medina, who are inspirations and a challenge for our differently-abled athletes aspiring to make it to the national team,” he noted. “Our athletes in the national pool are required to compete in this event if they want to maintain their status.”
Both stricken by polio, Ancheta and Medina are world Paralympic bronze medalists and also went home with golds in women’s powerlifting and table tennis, respectively, from last year’s Asean Para Games held in Malaysia.
“The PSC always welcomes the opportunity in staging the PSC-Philspada National Para Games because this competition provides our disabled athletes with a venue where they can showcase their skills and sports talents,” said Agustin, who oversees events for persons with disabilities for the government agency
Barredo pointed out that the Games will also serve as an early proving ground for national team hopefuls for the 10th Asean Paralympic Games the country will be hosting in January 2020.
The participants will be gunning for medals in athletics, badminton, chess, boccia, goalball, powerlifting, tenpin bowling, table tennis, swimming and wheelchair basketball.
After the inaugural rites, hostilities get under way with track and field action at the Marikina Sports Park oval where Cielo Honasan will try to duplicate her golden treble in the 2017 Asean Para Games in the women’s 100, 200 and 400-meter runs.